Vitalic Breathing By Thomas Robert Gaines Illustrated With ASet...

Vitalic Breathing

By

Thomas Robert Gaines

Illustrated With

A Set of

Eleven Health-Building Exercises

Chicago

The Reilly & Lee Co.

Copyright, 1921

by


All Rights Reserved

Made in U. S. A.

Vitalic Breathing

This Book,

Representing Years of Research,

Experiment and Practice,

Is Dedicated to Humanity

776378

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

1 What Is Vitalic Breathing?

The Vitalic Sniff. Health giving lung gym

nastics. Quick action, more oxygen, less disease.

Eliminates lung and muscle fatigue; promotes

poise; smoothes the disposition.

2 Immunity from Disease.,

How to regulate the sniffs. The value of a

good walk. Shoes and sense. Run without

losing your breath. Close your mouth and open

your lungs. Vitalic Breathing is elastic.

3 The Joy of Exercise

Make your body obey your will. Vitalic

Breathing a somnifacient. The Vitalic Sway, the

Internal Breath, the Upper Breath — sniffs to

health. The Obesity Bend — the fat man's de

light. The Vibration Breath — can you trill?

The Tensing Breath — an awakener.

4 Be an Upstanding Man

The secret of good posture. Body-slouch,

health-slouch, mind-slouch. The successful man

stands erect. Climb stairs, climb hills, sniff, and

climb to health.

5 Daily Personal Hygiene

Morning exercise wakens body and mind.

Take care of your eyes. The daily bath battles

nervousness. The first shower-bath, 126 B. C.

Nature pulls your hair to make you breathe.

Vitalic Breathing a hair restorer.

6 Why Fatigue"1

Too much food produces poison. The lunch

counter crime. Chest breathing a lazy habit;

mouth for eating, not breathing. Incorrect pos

ture and mental depression. Make your body

worthy of pride and carry it proudly.

Contents—Continued

7 Overweight and Underweight • 129

The perils of the fat and the worries of the

thin. Walk to normal. Food and exercise regu

lation. Perseverence versus pleasure.

8 For School Teachers and Indoor Workers 145

The deserving teacher. Vitalic Breathing a

weapon against nervousness and irate parents.

Vitalic Breathing a mental stimulus for children.

The school lunchroom. The devitalized indoor

worker. Do more than eat at the lunch hour —

walk— breathe. Live sanely.

9 Sinew of the Nation 161

Military training healthful. Value of Vitalic

Breathing in military training. Sniff, sniff, sniff,

the boys go marching. Vitalic Breathing and

vigorous exercise.

10 Take Thought with Food 177

Eat to live, not live to eat. Eat wisely — not

too much. When not to eat fruit. Wrong food

curdles the disposition. Get acquainted with your

stomach. Treat it as a friend.

11 Goitre, Pyorrhea, and Constipation 191

Vitalic Breathing and proper eating conquer

them. Chronic colds and catarrhal deafness ban

ished with consistent sniffing. Bowel regulation

through food and exercise.

12 Asthma, Catarrh, and Influenza 205

Asthma the result of improper breathing. Ca

tarrh curable only by hygienic methods. Burn up

the poison with fresh air. Vitalic Breathing an

influenza preventative.

13 How to Stay Young 219

Old age not a period of life but a condition.

Proper posture synonymous with elasticity. You

are as old as your spine and your mind. Regain

youth with Vitalic Breathing. Right thinking,

right eating, right breathing = health and happi

ness. Give Nature a chance.

ILLUSTRATED EXERCISES

NAME PAGES

The Internal Breath 59, 61, 63

The Elastic Sway 77, 79, 81

The Liver Breath 93, 95

The Magnetic Breath 107, 109, 111

The Tensing Breath 123, 125, 127

Dormant Walking 137, 139, 141, 143

The Upper Breath 155, 157, 159

The Bent-Arm Thrust 167, 169, 171, 173, 175

The Vibration Breath 187, 189

The Obesity Bend 199, 201, 203

The Vitalic Sway 211, 213, 215, 217, 218

Pictures of Mr. Gaines

The picture of Mr. Gaines in uniform was taken November,

1898, at the close of the Spanish-American war.

Measurements:Height 5 ft, 9l/2 ins.

Weight 115 pounds

Chest contracted 30 ins.

Chest expanded 31 J- S ins.

Health and vitality in a most impaired state.

The frontispiece picture of Mr. Gaines was taken November,

1920, twenty-two years later.

Measurements:

Height 5 ft., 11y2 ins.

Weight 185 pounds

Chest contracted 36Vz ins.

Chest expanded 43j/£ ins.

Health and vitality in a supreme condition.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

A man in the middle forties, with the

superb torso of a trained athlete, the alert

eye of youth and the elastic step of perfect

health presented himself at my office in the

late summer of 1920. He had with him the

manuscript for a book to be " Dedicated to

Humanity." In a give-and-take talk of half

an hour the man " sold " me on the princi

ples of Vitalic Breathing.

At a luncheon the next day my caller

completely convinced a score of Chicago

business and professional men gathered to

meet him that he has discovered and put into

practice a new and vital principle in breath

ing that will promote health, prevent disease,

overcome fatigue and arrest premature old

age.

Thomas Robert Gaines, the author of

Vitalic Breathing, is a Cincinnati business

man. An officer of our company, visiting

n

12 Publisher's Note—Continued

Mr. Gaines, found him to be in executive

charge of the largest department of a com

mercial establishment doing an annual busi

ness of ten million dollars. In Cincinnati

scores of men and women, old and young,

and in all walks of life testified eagerly to

benefits derived and cures effected through

the practice of Vitalic Breathing.

Following the Cincinnati investigation,

verifying the author's claims for Vitalic

Breathing, his manuscript was submitted to

an eminent Chicago physician who subjected

the method to exhaustive clinical tests, with

the result that the scientist endorsed the lay

man's discovery as sound in theory and a

most important forward step in the develop

ment of the gymnastics of life.

Vitalic Breathing is given to the world as

an absolutely safe and universally applicable

way to health. It costs nothing to take;

requires comparatively little time and will

return dividends an hundred fold in renewed

youth, increased vitality and immunity from

disease.

Practice Vitalic Breathing and presently

there will stir within your revitalized body the

eager, rejoicing power to meet all demands.

Any one can practice Vitalic Breathing. It

Publisher's Note—Continued ^

will benefit everyone. For it is the oxygen

taken into the system through the lungs, and

carried to every cell in the body by the blood,

that at once gives us'life and the consuming

power that burns away the poisons that clog

the human system and bring disease and

death.

Frank Kennicott Reilly.

INTRODUCTION

From earliest recorded time, intelligent

humans have noted the vital and stimulating

properties inherent in air.

The "pneuma" of the old Greeks was

actually considered a bit of the same ethereal

warp and woof of which the spiritual essence

of the man was woven. Modern science rec

ognizes in this shrewd guess of the inspired

philosophers and medical men a startling

resemblance to a wonderful truth.

For, if oxygen be not a part of the vital

spirit that animates us, it is, nevertheless,

the most important of all means for main

taining that spirit in statu quo—for a time.

Taken into the lungs with each breath, it

purifies the system, and neutralizes the accu

mulation of carbon dioxide that depresses

and devitalizes body and mind.

Carried to every minute cell in the body

by the coloring matter of the blood, oxygen

is

16 Introduction—Continued

burns waste products—products that kill as

surely as does curare — the deadly poison of

the Orinoco Indians.

Indeed the putrefactive material with

which the savage tips his darts and arrows

is of a piece with the substances formed when

organic cells break down in putrefaction.

So there exists a profound need for breath

ing deep of the sweet draught that cleanses

blood, body and brain; that reinforces and

makes courageous every microscopic soldier

in the valiant army of organic defense. This

fact is quite as definitely established as is the

multiplication table, or a chemical equation.

So when, to all the great and fundamental

truths of purification and rejuvenation by air,

we add a unique and approved method of

forcing into every cell of the lungs the vivify

ing gasses, there must be physiological gain.

The method of "lung-cell packing" devised

by Mr. Gaines in this little book is physio

logical. It is solidly founded upon principles

accurately and conclusively established.

Except in grave pathological heart condi

tions—fortunately very rare—Vitalic Breath

ing cannot possibly do any harm. In every

other condition it must accomplish great good

— not only in aerating the blood, and in oxi

Introduction—Continued 17

dizing substances which may become active

poisons, but also in activating all the func

tions of digestion and metabolism, and in pro

moting a richer and fuller expression of life

in every individual who has the great good

sense to adopt the method.

It has my hearty endorsement.

Edwin F. Bowers, M. D.

Author of "Teeth and Health," "Bathing for

Health," etc.

AUTHOR-S FOREWORD

Vitalic breathing offers to mankind a sound

and certain way to health, a cure for fatigue,

a preventive for disease and one of the most

potent allies in the battle of life against pre

mature old age.

The Creator intended each one of us to

be well. Disease is evil. Within each human

body are powerful elements to fight this evil.

Correct breathing, proper diet and exercise are

Nature's weapons against disease.

An adequate supply of oxygen, taken into

the system through the lungs and pumped

through our arteries by the heart, is vital

to life. Hence, Vitalic Breathing. Oxygen

in the blood consumes — or oxydizes — the

poisons that harass mankind. Proper food

stokes the human furnace, and sane exercise

keeps the body fit. But oxygen is the vital

spark.

If men and women will but realize that

19

Author's Foreword—Continued

freedom from disease and premature old age

is within their reach, that all they need do

is simply to reach out and secure the price

less prize, good health, the prize is theirs.

Not only good health but in addition poise,

the joy of living, happiness, normality, tran

quil nerves, and life in harmony with Nature,

all will result from the systematic, daily

practice of Vitalic Breathing.

You Want Good Health?

It Is Yours for the Taking

Why quarrel with Mother Nature? Why

must she visit you with all kinds of maladies

before you use your reason and common

sense to discover the cause? Simply because

you are ignorant of the fundamental laws

of health, particularly as applied to breathing.

Every day great numbers of cells in your

body are being torn down. Daily, quantities

of these worn-out, dead cells are cast into

the blood to be eliminated. Constantly, new

cells are being built to replace those

destroyed, and this process is continuous

while you live.

If you are living properly your cell-building

is constructive. If you are not living in accord

ance with the laws of Nature your dead cells

Author-s Forezvord—Continued 21

are piling up in your system, and trouble looms

ahead. How best can this poison in your blood

be thrown off, so that the scarlet life stream

will be as free as possible from this unhealthy

condition ?

There is one definite and certain way of

burning up this noxious element, and eliminat

ing these body toxins and wastage; and that

way is by the daily, systematic practice of

Vitalic Breathing. The plentiful supply of

oxygen introduced by this breathing method

burns up these poisons, and at the same time

enriches and purifies the blood. Only oxy

gen can perform this blood-cleansing for

you. The world is full of misfits, incurables,

sickly, morbid men and women, who are unfit

mainly because of a lack of understanding of

the proper method of breathing.

If it were possible for me personally to carry

Nature's healing message to the millions who

suffer all over America; if my voice could

reach the ears of all those who are tired of liv

ing because of inefficient and handicapped

bodies — if this were possible, my oration

would be brief:

'-Breathe Nature's way and know the joy of

health."

You men and women with lazy livers, get

22 Author's Foreword—Continued

busy with Vitalic Breathing. Breathe, breathe,

wake up those organs that are not toeing the

mark, get new vim and energy into that slug

gish liver, and it will be but a short time before

you begin really to live again.

Those painful headaches and backaches, ban

ish them quickly from your life by Vitalic

Breathing. Breathe, pack, pack full your lungs,

put new life and energy into each cell and every

drop of blood in your body. Your whole be

ing is crying for oxygen ; sniff deeply now and

become really alive and well.

Why Be Miserable and Fearful

When Fresh Air Will Make You Well

Sufferers from blood pressure and harden

ing of the arteries, how long will you be mis

erable and fearful? Why will you not rec

ognize the fact that a very considerable part

of the under-oxydation process that is respon

sible for your trouble is due to a deficiency

of oxygen! Sniff, sniff, sniff!

Do not hesitate to make as much noise as

possible as you sniff; exercise your nose and

every part of the respiratory passages.

Do not keep that dead air in your lungs.

Forcibly expel each breath, when you have

absorbed the oxygen in it.

Author's Foreword—Continued 23

Vitalic Breathing means a new life for all

those who suffer. Why delay putting into daily

practice the most wonderful health help on

earth, Nature's own breathing method?

Every Woman May Have

A Clear and Lovely Skin

Faces that are marred with pimples and

blotches often will change to velvety softness

and an unblemished skin when Vitalic Breath

ing is made a part of the daily life program.

Women who value a lovely skin — and what

woman does not? — should practice Vitalic

Breathing for at least five minutes every night

just before retiring. A gentle facial massage

may be executed at the same time. Within

thirty days a pleasurable transformation will

have taken place, and you will continue to

invoke the aid of Vitalic Breathing as a beauty

factor ever afterward.

If you are nervous and discouraged Vitalic

Breathing will cheer and encourage you. You

cannot remain in the negative atmosphere if

you breathe Nature's way. Breathe down to

the very bottom of your lungs ; exhale all those

mistakes that tend to dishearten you; sniff in

the magic, rejuvenating powers of the air that

encompasses you.*

24 Author's Foreword—Continued

As your blood becomes infused with the tang

and magnetism of abounding oxygen, and the

waste and poisonous element is consumed,

your nerves will take on new and giant force ;

you will become positive, fearless and dom

inant.

Don't grow old ; let Vitalic Breathing help

to keep you young and ambitious. The stif

fening and contraction of old age will pass

you by for many, many happy years if you

put up the flag of Nature:

" Vitalic Breathing practiced here."

Vitalic Breathing

CHAPTER I

WHAT IS VITALIC BREATHING?

The Vitalic Sniff — health giving lung gym

nastics. Quick action, more oxygen, less dis

ease. Eliminates lung and muscle fatigue;

promotes poise; smoothes the disposition.

Vitalic Breathing means inhaling in sniffs

and forcibly exhaling. This sniffing increases

lung capacity, normalizes heart action, deep^

ens the chest, improves the body posture,

squares the shoulders, and energizes the entire

body.

Vitalic Breathing is all that its name im

plies — vitalizing, energizing, stimulating,

health-promoting.

Vitalic Breathing is curative and disease-

preventing.

Vitalic Breathing is a potent enemy of

nervousness and inefficiency.

Vitalic Breathing is the conqueror of lung

25

26 VITALIC BREATHING

fatigue and shortness of breath, and reduces

muscle fatigue.

Vitalic Breathing will brighten your eye,

make your body more elastic, and steady your

nerves.

Vitalic Breathing will give pale cheeks the

healthful, ruddy glow of the man who lives

out-of-doors.

Vitalic Breathing is one of the surest means

yet discovered for exercising the internal

organs of the body and bringing about

the perfect health that comes from normal

functioning.

An Important Forward Step

In the Care of Your Body

Vitalic Breathing is your waiting, ever-

ready, faithful slave anxious to serve you day

or night, winter or summer.

Will you now take Vitalic Breathing into

your life?

Will you breathe Nature's way for a little

time each day, knowing that the compensation

will be good health and joy of living?

Will you believe in Nature, will you live her

way, and breathe as she would have you do ?

Scientifically explained Vitalic Breathing is

a sound method of exercising the lungs, devel

WHAT IS VITALIC BREATHING? 27

oping the chest, and increasing the motility and

function of the abdominal and pelvic organs.

It is an absolutely safe form of exercise;

requires comparatively little time, and costs

nothing to take (no apparatus being neces

sary). It undoubtedly represents a most im

portant forward step in the development of

lung gymnastics.

For years it has been a well known fact that

systematic, rythmic exercise of any muscle in

the body will develop that muscle. The act of

breathing results from the movement of cer

tain muscles in the chest, hence the above

statement applies also to them, — i. e. — these

muscles can be developed with proper training.

Vitalic breathing is produced by a sharp,

quick action of the diaphragm, the intercostal,

the pectoral, and other muscles of the chest

while inspiring. The mouth is closed during

both inspiration and expiration, the nose being

used for both the entrance and the exit of

the air.

To begin the practice of Vitalic Breathing

start inspiring or drawing in air by two or

three short, sharp, quick sniffs through the

nose, with mouth closed, and expiring or ex

pelling the air with one full, rapid, deliber

ate breath, also through the nose and with


mouth closed. The expelling time is equal to

about two-thirds the time of the two or three

inspiring sniffs.

Simple and Pleasant Way

Of Winning Perfect Health

The simplest and pleasantest form is to prac

tice Vitalic Breathing while walking, using a

sniff to each of two or three steps, and exhal

ing or expelling the air with the next two

steps. In other words, in walking four or five

steps sniff, or draw in air, during the first two

or three steps, and expel the air during the

last two steps. There is no hard and fast rule

as to the number of sniffs. Each individual

may adapt the system to his own liking.

In order to properly value the sniff method

and its effects it is necessary to compare it

with ordinary breathing.

Under ordinary circumstances the act of

inspiration takes up less time than does the

act of expiration; also there is a slight pause

after expiration. With the sniff breathing

method, on the other hand, the time is equally

divided between inspiration and expiration,

and no time is lost.

Again: in ordinary breathing the enlarge

ment of the chest is largely a muscular act;

Be an upstanding man. The secret of good posture isfreedom and ease.


the diaphragm, the external and internal in

tercostal muscles being chiefly used. The

expansive movements in the lower part of the

chest are greater than those of the upper.

Under the sniff breathing method, on the

other hand, in inspiration the greatest move

ment occurs in the upper antero-posterior

diameter of the chest, due to the fact that in

addition to the previously mentioned muscles

the pectorals and trapezius muscles also are

used.

Ordinary Breathing Will Not

Accomplish This So Readily

And that is not all, for, in addition to the

function exerted by the muscles external to

the lung, the muscular fibres of the air-vesicles

and bronchial tubes possess a contractile power

which, when forced expiration is practiced,

(as by this method of breathing) assist in

expiration, and consequently make possible the

removal of some residual air from remote

parts of the lung which is heavily loaded with

carbon dioxide, and is therefore a detriment

to the blood, and a depressent to the system.

By this method of breathing, air cells which

ordinarily are seldom used are filled with air

— also the normal capacity of all normally


used air cells is increased to a considerable

extent.

What does this mean? It means that more

oxygen is brought to the lungs, and this in

turn means that the blood absorbs more oxy

gen. As a consequence there is a more rapid

exchange of oxygen for carbon dioxide, the

waste matters of the blood are more rapidly

burned up, and the ultimate effect is that the

natural defenses of the body against disease

are increased.

In other words, the mechanism of the whole

breathing apparatus is thus exercised and

enlarged and made to do more than it ordin

arily would be able to do. All this can be

accomplished zvithout any undue tax or strain

on the body.

Why You Get Tired and

How You May Avoid Fatigue

Physiologists have known for many years

that the more quickly the movements of respir

ation are performed the larger is the propor

tionate quantity of carbon dioxide expired, i.

e., the larger the amount of air inhaled in a

given period the larger will be the amount of

carbon dioxide exhaled.

Vitalic Breathing favors quick action,


and therefore a larger amount of air is

inspired than would be the case under normal

breathing.

Fatigue is evident whenever the blood

becomes overcharged with carbon dioxide and

the products of cell destruction. It usually

results because of inability of the blood to

have its wastes oxydized as rapidly as they

are produced, and a condition known as acid

osis sets in.

Burn Up Your Waste Matter

And Give Your Blood Fresh Oxygen

Therefore, if you wish a new lease on life;

if you wish to make the body stronger; if you

wish to keep the body young, it is necessary

to burn up the waste matter in the blood in

the most complete manner possible. This

can be done by supplying the blood with

more oxygen by way of the lungs, through

proper rythmic breathing — that is, Vitalic

Breathing.

Another thing which is very noticeable

while Vitalic Breathing is practiced is the fact

that there is produced with each sniff a very

sudden and forcible retraction of the abdom

inal wall, causing movement of practically all

of the contents of the abdomen, as well as the


pelvis, i. e., every abdominal and pelvic organ

is set in motion with each sniff.

Due to the suddenness of the movement,

contraction, and later dilation of all the ab

dominal and pelvic viscera occurs. That these

effects will be beneficial in indigestion, due to

stomach or bowel inactivity; that they will

rout constipation, and all conditions produced

by a sluggish state of the alimentary tract,

is obvious. Under this method of breathing

the abdominal organs receive active exercise,

while under normal breathing only passive

movements of the organs take place.

If You Would Know Real Joy

Just Try This Way of Walking

As you become accustomed to the daily prac

tice of Vitalic Breathing, while walking at an

average gait inhale three times covering three

steps, one sniff at each step; then forcibly

exhale through the nose the air taken in by

the three sniffs, covering the next two steps;

thus one full inhalation of three sniffs and

•ne exhalation to cover five or six steps in all. .

After this system is used some time and your

lung capacity increases, you may inhale four

or more times, always inhaling through the

nose.

Never breathe through the mouth while walking.


Personally, when I walk rapidly I use the

following method of breathing : one deep sniff

covering the first step, two short sniffs cover

ing the second step, then forcibly expelling

the air through the nose at the next step. This

system not only reduces lung fatigue to a min

imum, but also enables you to walk with great

rapidity, with little or no muscle fatigue.

Sometimes I change off to three-sniff

breathing, and when walking very fast I

resort to two sniffs and one exhalation cover

ing three steps in all. Each individual must

find out for himself the sniffs most suitable

for walking.

For ordinary running Vitalic Breathing is

usually found most useful by executing it in

the following manner:

As you begin to run sniff in strongly for

two strides and exhale forcibly covering the

next, in all three paces for the full inhalation

and exhalation. This system of breathing

must be practiced continuously while run

ning.

If you feel that you have taken in too much

oxygen, then allow two paces for the exhala

tion. If greatly winded, practice single sniff

breathing for a little while; sniff in for one

stride and exhale at the next. Half a dozen


such strides will usually remove the cause of

your lung distress.

Never breathe through the mouth while

running. Read the Section on walking and

running for fuller instructions.

Climb Stairs and Hills—

Cut Out the Elevators

Climbing is a wonderful health aid, if

proper breathing is employed while you climb.

Do not take the elevator unless absolutely

necessary; use the stairs and practice Vitalic

Breathing, and lung fatigue and shortness of

breath will scarcely bother you at all.

For climbing hills and stairs practice Vitalic

Breathing as in running. Hold the body erect

and inhale in sniffs twice, covering the first

two steps; then forcibly exhale at the third

step. At the fourth and fifth step inhale as

before; at the sixth step, exhale. Make this

breathing continuous while mounting stairs

or climbing inclines. Do not fail to use

the nose exclusively for inhaling and ex

haling.

When you exercise sniff in twice, then

forcible exhale. Endeavor to fill the lungs

during the time you are undergoing the most

severe strain; as you relax, exhale. Never

It Is essential to the health of women to learn to enjoylong- daily walks. Wear common sense, practical walkingshoes.


exercise with the mouth open, always use the

nose for inhaling and exhaling.

In golfing, tennis and dancing, for best

results sniff in twice, covering two steps,

exhale forcibly covering the next step or two

steps. Don't forget to keep your mouth

tightly shut, and make your sniff breathing

and forcible exhaling continuous or almost

continuous as you play golf or tennis, or while

you dance. Vitalic Breathing thus executed

will practically eliminate lung and muscle

fatigue.

Many singers recommend Vitalic Breath

ing. They say that a short sniff will draw in

as much air as an ordinary breath; besides,

the voice and its carrying power is strength

ened and improved, and the resonance is

increased, because the entire " resonance

chamber " — the oral cavity, the naso-pha-

rynx, and the air chambers of the head have

been stimulated by Vitalic Breathing to their

healthy, normal condition.

Study carefully the various corrective

exercises and apply those best suited to your

needs. While undertaking any strain, inhale

in sniffs and forcibly exhale as you relax.

Walk half an hour every day, employing

Vitalic Breathing, and your walk will be most


enjoyable and healthful because of absence

of fatigue. Run for a few minutes some time

each day; running becomes a positive pleas

ure and health promoter when Vitalic Breath

ing is practiced.

Everyone needs Vitalic Breathing — the

well, the sick, boys, girls, men and women,

all will equally profit by its daily execution.

Nervousness yields to the poise-promoting

influence of Vitalic Breathing. Tangled

nerves will become untwisted; sensitive, hys

terical, unstrung dispositions will grow nor

mal. Vitalic Breathing stands for physical

and mental perfection.

Adopt Vitalic Breathing today. Make it

a part of your daily life and it will make that

life worth living.

CHAPTER II

IMMUNITY FROM DISEASE

How to regulate the sniffs. The value of

a good walk. Shoes and sense. Run with

out losing your breath. Close your mouth and

open your lungs. Vitalic Breathing is elastic.

If we practice the right kind of living by

keeping ourselves at a high level of physical

fitness, we are storing up within our bodies

Nature's ammunition that will make us im

mune to disease.

Fill every cell in your lungs with fresh

air, while walking briskly in the sunlight, by

the daily practice of Vitalic Breathing and

your tissues and fluids will produce conditions

and substances that resist and even devour

the germs which you carry now, or with which

you will almost inevitably come in contact

today, tomorrow, and thereafter.

Dr. Royal S. Copeland, Commissioner of

Health, of New York City, says in a recent

article :

" Tuberculosis is a house disease. It is


fostered by bad housing, poor ventilation,

lack of sunlight, dust — by all the conditions

of bad housing.

" Under-nourishment from lack of food,

or improper food, is an important factor.

" Worry, doubt, unhappiness — we cannot

escape the effects of the mental state.

" Fortunately, the germ of tuberculosis

is a lazy, inactive, easily-killed organism. A

few hours in the sunlight ends its career.

Our Grandmothers Were Wise

Even if They Were not Scientific

" Our grandmothers, even though they did

not know the scientific reason for doing

many things, were wise in their day and

generation. They used to hang the bedding

and the contents of the closets on the clothes

line " to sun." " Sunning " will kill not only

the germs of tuberculosis, but also pneu

monia germs, and probably the germs of a

lot of diseases we little understand as yet.

" We spend more hours in the bedroom

than in any other single spot. Our lives are

likely to be made or broken by the kind of

places in which we sleep. No matter how

small the room, it should be arranged to get

the maximum of air."

A brisk ten minutes' walk In the afternoon and a longwalk after the evening meal will do much to banish sleeplessness.

IMMUNITY FROM DISEASE 47

Fresh air, sunlight and good food — thus

Dr. Copeland indicates what your body needs.

I add exercise, with Vitalic Breathing.

The health of your entire body may depend

upon the amount of walking you do each day.

Walk for at least fifteen minutes daily, and

walk briskly for best results. Endeavor if

possible to walk for an entire hour every day.

Continually practice Vitalic Breathing as you

walk, using the nose exclusively for inhaling

and exhaling.

A Real Walk Every Day

Is a Certain Path to Health

It is essential for the health of women to

learn to enjoy long daily walks. Women's

walking clubs should be formed in every com

munity. The greatest care should be taken

of the feet. Visit the chiropodist at least

twice a year, and never wear shoes that pinch

or bind the foot. This applies to men and

women.

High heeled shoes are an abomination for

women, as they may throw the entire bony

structure of the body out of poise, and cause

endless trouble and pain. Wear common

sense, practical walking shoes during the day,

and if you must wear high heeled shoes adopt


them for evening wear only. Rubber heels

are a great aid to walking, as they prevent

jar and noise and give resilience and spring

to the step.

If all the other physical exercises were

barred to mankind, walking alone will keep

him fit, healthy and happy ; and walking is

doubly enjoyable where it may be done with

little or no lung fatigue, by zealously practic

ing Vitalic Breathing.

Walking is Nature's own perfect exercise,

it improves every part of your body, it vital

izes the blood, it helps to sharpen up the pow

ers of vision and hearing, and often banishes

constipation, nervousness and insomnia.

An Ideal Walking Method

For Use When on the Streets

Learn to walk correctly and to breathe

properly, and a new life will shortly unfold

itself to you.

While walking, govern your breathing by

the character of the ground and the rapidity

of your movement.

Here is an ideal method for the average

person walking at an ordinary pace along the

street, or on level ground.

Inhale in sniffs four times while taking fon r


steps, hold the breath for the next step and

then exhale forcibly during the next two

steps; thus the entire period of inhaling- and

exhaling is extended over the time of taking

seven consecutive steps.

If you increase your pace, you may use the

same method, excepting, however, the holding

of the breath for two steps ; that is, you inhale

four times covering four steps, and then imme

diately exhale covering two steps. In very

rapid walking, inhale three times for three

steps and exhale forcibly at the next two, mak

ing five steps in all.

We use the words " three times," " four

times " because the breathing is to be done in

sniffs, one sniff per step.

When you are walking down a decline, sim

ply take slow, long deep breaths or inhale eight

or more short sniff breaths and let them out

gradually.

After a few weeks of walking practice with

Vitalic Breathing, you will learn the number

of inhalations and exhalations best suited to

yourself. There is really no hard and fast

rule by which you are to be governed, for indi

viduals are differently constituted in regard

to lung power and breathing capacity, and

you must regulate your breaths to suit your


self. The majority of men and women will

be best suited by the schedules given in detail

in Chapter III.

You Can Run and Enjoy It

If You Use Vitalic Breathing

While running, Vitalic Breathing is used

somewhat differently. If you begin to run

slowly inhale in sniffs at each step for three

steps, then immediately exhale forcibly for the

next two steps. Do not hold the breath as in

walking. In more rapid running, inhale twice

and exhale forcibly at once, covering two

steps, inhaling and exhaling thus for four

steps. In very rapid running, inhale twice

for two steps, and exhale forcibly on the

next step, covering three strides in all.

If greatly winded, rest the lungs by inhal

ing deeply at one step, and exhaling forcibly

at the next, continuing this until you have

restored sufficient oxygen to the blood. Usu

ally a dozen such breaths is enough.

Remember that while running the breath

ing should be continuous, inhaling or exhal

ing. This method burns up fatigue-waste

almost as soon as it is produced. By this

method you can run .a considerable distance

without being winded or distressed.

She should change her shoes. High heels throw the entirebony structure of the body out of poise and cause endlesstrouble and pain.


Every man, woman and child who earnestly

desires good health and a long life should run

for two or three minutes every day, using

Vitalic Breathing while running. This time

may be continuously increased if the running

is thoroughly enjoyed.

A good system of exercise consists of com

bined walking and running. Walk briskly

for three minutes, then run for one minute,

then begin the three minute walk, then the

minute run, and so on for half an hour or

longer.

If you could but realize the wonderful

power for good that systematic daily walking

and running is, how quickly would disease

and fatigue melt away, and invalids would

become mightly scarce in our good land.

Children Should Be Instructed

As to the Proper Method of Breathing

Children should be taught to use Vitalic

Breathing while running, as it tends to pre

vent the heart-strain which is often so preva

lent in school children.

Sunlight is a marvelous tonic for weak

lungs. Face the sun and take twenty upper

breaths, keeping the eyes closed if the light

bothers you. Then, step into the cool shade


and take an equal number of upper breaths.

The warm rays of the sun will relax the lungs,

then the cool air will stimulate and energize

them to new activity.

Be sure to exhale forcibly. If you are suf

fering from any lung or heart trouble con

sult your doctor before taking these exercises.

Remember to hold the body erect while

walking or running. This is of great impor

tance to your health.

Breathing Through The Mouth

Distorts Faces That Might Be Beautiful

If mouth breathing has been a habit, it

may be quite easily corrected by disciplinary

exercises and will power, and by the removal

of mechanical sources of obstruction from

the nasal passages. The mouth should not

be used for breathing. Many beautiful faces

distorted by mouth-breathing can be made

attractive in contour and to glow with health

by corrective breathing exercises.

Special attention should be given to chil

dren who breathe through the mouth while

sleeping. This habit will automatically cease

when Vitalic Breathing is daily practiced, but

if allowed to continue it becomes a serious

menace to health.

Remember always to hold the hody as erect as possible

while walking-.


When you have practiced Vitalic Breathing

for several weeks, then you may try out my

own special advanced system which I use when

walking at the rate of six or more miles an

hour. At the first step sniff once, while tak

ing the second step take in two short sniffs,

exhale covering the next step. This makes a

rhythmic breath and you can walk with tre

mendous rapidity for miles and miles without

being in any great degree lung or muscle

fatigued.

Occasionally, while on a long hike, you may

change to four consecutive sniff inhalations

for four steps, then exhale covering the next

two steps. This helps to relieve the monotony

of the first mentioned method.

Weather Conditions Make A Difference

Work Out Your Own Breathing Program

Weather conditions often make a great dif

ference in the atmosphere relative to breath

ing. On a cool day you may thoroughly enjoy

four sniffs for four steps; the next day three

sniff breathing suits you much better because

of different weather conditions. Occasionally

after exhaling walk a few steps without

inhaling.

Remember Vitalic Breathing is elastic, and


each and every individual must work out a

sniffing schedule best suited to himself. The

chief thing to keep in mind that a certain time

daily must be devoted to the practice of Vitalic

Breathing.

THE INTERNAL BREATH

FIGTJHE ONE

An excellent exercise for women and girls. Devel

ops the arm and shoulder muscles and tends to pro

mote the growth of the hair.

Directions— Separate the feet so that the heels

are about twelve inches apart. Exhale and bend the

body directly over to the front, arms hanging down

loosely (Figure i). Keep the eyes looking at a point

between the toes during the arm swingings. Now

throw the arms as high as possible to the left side.

59

THE INTERNAL BREATH

FIGURE TWO

Let the right wrist curl loosely around toward the

neck for a moment (Figure 2). Then swing the arms

over to the right side (Figure 5), hold for a moment

and swing back (Figure 2). The knees must not be

bent at any time during the execution of this exercise.

At all times the arms must be loose ; no rigidity must

61

THE INTERNAL BREATH

FIGURE THREE

be in evidence while swinging the arms from side to

side. One or two minutes practice of this exercise is

usually sufficient at one time.

B r eat king D ire c tions— Sniff in twice, and

exhale at once, continuously through the nose dur

ing the practice of the Internal Breath.

63

CHAPTER III

THE JOY OF EXERCISE

Make your body obey your will. Vitalic

Breathing a somnifacient. The Vitalic Sway,

the Internal Breath, the Upper Breath —

sniffs to health. The Obesity Bend — the fat

man's delight. The Vibration Breath — can

you trill? The Tensing Breath — an awak-

ener.

When you have mastered the first princi

ples of Vitalic Breathing you will be ready to

select the exercise, or exercises, best suited to

your habit of life and your physical condition.

Between each chapter of my book are inserted

a series of pictures illustrating the various

exercises that I shall touch upon briefly in

this chapter.

You Can Find No Greater Joy

Than Varied Exercise, Sanely Used

With each set of drawings are printed my

instructions for the use of the exercise. The

individual reader will determine which ) ones

will be best adapted to his use.

Pick out your exercise, or exercises today.

65


Experience the joy of making your body obey

your will. Do not make the mistake of

attempting too much. But be sure that you do

— every day — the exercise you select for

yourself.

Five or six minutes devoted daily to the

stretching and breathing exercises will help to

keep you in prime condition. These are scien

tific, curative and corrective exercises for the

building up of the entire body. Incorporate

them in your daily health program, and

increased vitality, health, strength and vigor

will follow. ->

Morning is the Ideal Time

For Exercise— Try Breathing At Night

Remember that the morning is the ideal

time for exercising, but you can practice

before retiring, if it be found impracticable

to perform the exercises in the morning. Many

who suffer from nervousness cannot sleep

well if they exercise before retiring. They

should exercise in the morning and simply

take the breathing at night.

Vitalic Breathing is most generally a sleep

producer. A cold spray, or shower, should

follow the morning exercises. The witer

may be gradually cooled, if the sudden con

THE JOY OF EXERCISE 67

tact of cold water is found disagreeable.

Exercise always at an open window, or out

of doors.

It is not absolutely essential for good health

to take stretching exercises, providing you

walk rapidly at least half an hour daily breath

ing in sniffs. However, even three minutes

systematic daily stretching will prove of the

utmost benefit to your muscles and internal

organs.

Try the Vitalic Sway—

It Will Work Wonders for You

The Vitalic Sway stretches, stimulates and

strengthens the entire body, and particularly

the muscles of the abdomen. It is especially

useful in constipation. It may also be used

as a concentrative exercise. Stand erect, feet

apart, then bend the body and head over as

far as possible to the left side, avoiding a ten

dency to lean backward or forward by keep

ing the head in line with the legs. As you pro

ceed to bend the body raise the right arm as

high as possible well above your head and over

to the left, touch your left leg as far down as

possible with the left hand and raise the heel

of the right foot off the ground. Then reverse

the same motions to the right side. The knees


must not be bent. In all there are four motions

simultaneously executed — bending the body,

stroking the leg, raising the arm and lifting

the heel.

You May Exercise Your Mind

By Adding This Feature

The Vitalic Sway may be used as an exer

cise for your mind, if you like. As you bend

the body to the left side and raise your right

arm you call out loudly " one," as you bend

over to the right side and raise the left arm

you call " A." Swinging back to the left side

you call " two," and then to the right you call

" B," and so on until the entire alphabet is

correctly called off.

Remember the right hand represents figures

and the left hand the letters of the alphabet.

When you have mastered calling numbers and

letters correctly, then proceed to the next

stage calling the alphabet backward. The first

motion while raising the right hand call

" one," the second motion while raising the

left hand call " Z " and so on until you finish

the alphabet at " A." When you have mas

tered the alphabet backwards then proceed to

the third stage calling the alphabet backwards

and forwards ; thus, as you raise the right arm

THE JOY OF EXERdSE 69

and bend to the left call " one," as you bend

to the right call "A," then to the left call

"two," then to the right call "Z," then to

the left call "three," then to the right call

" B," then to the left call " four," then to the

right call " Y," and so on until the alphabet

is counted and called correctly. In this fashion

you are exercising your body and improving

your memory.

The Internal Breath is Fine

For Women and for Girls

A fine exercise for women and for girls

approaching womanhood, is The Internal

Breath. Its use strengthens and develops the

shoulder and arm muscles and tends to make

the body firm and elastic. It sends the blood

into the scalp and will help to promote the

growth of the hair by causing a better circu

lation of blood in the scalp, and the nourish

ing hair follicles.

Bend the body well over at right angles, let

the arms hang loosely from the shoulders.

Forcibly throw the loose arms as high as pos

sible to the left side, then immediately swing

them over to the right. Keep the eyes firmly

fixed on the ground between the feet. The

knees must not be bent at any time. At all


times the arms must be loose, no rigidity must

be in evidence while swinging the arms from

side to side. Let the wrist of the lower arm

curl around the neck, hold the arms elevated

just for a second, then swing them quickly yet

loosely around to the opposite side. Two or

three minutes practice of this exercise is usu

ally sufficient at one time. See pictured instruc

tions for complete details.

The Upper Breath Will Help

To Give You a Clear Head

If you are troubled with ordinary goitre,

catarrhal deafness, nasal catarrh, (the " trou

ble " may be a deviated septum) or eyes

weakened as a result of lack of muscular

tone, or toxic accumulation, try The Upper

Breath. Many of my pupils have been abso

lutely cured of these ailments by its use.

Stand erect, with feet about ten inches

apart, arms hanging loosely by the sides, air

expelled from lungs. Slowly raise the arms

at right angles to the body, at the same time

begin to breathe in short sniffs. From six to

ten sniffs should fill the lungs. Have the lungs

packed just as both hands meet directly above

the head. Then lock the index fingers and

hold the breath for three to five seconds.


Then unclasp the fingers and bring arms

rather rapidly down to the sides, at the same

time exhale forcibly. The lungs should have

expelled all the air possible when arms are

down. Then immediately repeat, breathing

as before. The execution of this breathing

exercise at least twenty times every morning

and evening will produce most gratifying

results. The arms must be brought down

in the same manner as bringing them up,

at right angles to the body. See pictured

instructions.

"Nobody Loves a Fat Man"

—But This Exercise Will Help Him

The Obesity Bend is invaluable for

strengthening the muscular walls of the abdo

men, reducing the waist line, and making the

muscles of the back firm and strong. It is

also useful in constipation. Stand with feet

apart, then bend the body as far over as pos

sible to the direct front, at the same time

touching the floor with the right hand, and

raising the left hand as high above the head

as possible. The left knee is to be kept stiff,

the right knee may be slightly bent. Then

bring the body back to the original standing

position, and, reversing the movements of the


hands, bend down and touch the floor with

the left hand and raise the right hand above

the head. Do not alternate the knee bending,

always keep the left rigid and the right knee

slightly bent. Remember the body is to be

bent over directly to the front, never incline

to the right or left sides. All the movements

must be continuous while executing this exer

cise, bending, raising the body, and moving

the arms. No pause must intervene until

completion. Two minutes of this exercise

morning and evening will give excellent

results. See pictured instructions.

Increased Vitality Will Be Yours

If You Master This Breath

The Vibration Breath is a novel exercise.

Numbers of my pupils suffering from catar

rhal troubles have benefited by it. This exer

cise arouses, vibrates, and stirs up the blood,

nerves and internal organs.

Stand erect with the feet apart. Now pack

the lungs completely by six or more short

sniffs. When lungs are completely filled beat

the ball of the hands sharply against the chest

walls, at the same time trilling with the voice,

while letting the air slowly escape from the

lungs. Proceed from walls of the thorax to


the abdomen and breathe, trill, and vibrate

with the hands as before. In this manner

cover the entire body, back, legs, arms, etc. If

unable to trill when the tongue is placed

lightly above the upper front teeth, then

loudly make the sound a-a-h, as in father,

continuously during the exercise. The prac

tice of the Vibration Breath for two minutes

each day will be profitably repaid by improved

health and greater vitality. See the detailed,

pictured instructions.

This Stunt Before Arising

Will Start Your Day Right

The Tensing Breath strengthens the lungs

and the muscles of the arms and shoulders;

stretches, stimulates and frees congestion of

spine and spinal nerves.

Lie on the floor, bed, or on a cot. Relax the

body completely, then pack the lungs by inhal

ing in short sniffs. When lungs are filled pass

the hands to the back of the head and grasp

the edges of the cot or bars of bed and pull

upward. Then, tense the body while holding

breath; stretch the legs as far down as possi

ble and push your head up as much as you

can. After holding the breath and tensing

and stretching the entire body for six to ten


seconds, then exhale and relax with arms

returned loosely to the sides. Then begin to

pack the lungs and tense and stretch as before.

Remember no pillow is to be under the head.

Practice the Tensing Breath at least a score

of times each morning before arising. Be

sure to have the lungs filled before pulling,

tensing and stretching. Exhale and relax after

the strain. See pictured instructions.

After All, Walking Is

Nature's Perfect Exercise

All of these exercises and the others, given

in detail with illustrated instructions through

out this book, are good — each in its own way,

but remember always that walking is Nature's

perfect exercise. For the benefit of my read

ers I append herewith tables on walking and

running that will be readily understood and

may be easily applied:

WALKING.

Steps 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Slow walk A SSSEEESSSEEE

Slow walk B SSSSEEESSSSEEE

Fast walk C SSSEESSSEE

Fast walk D SSSESSSE

Fast walk E SsSEESsSEE

s s

Rapid walk F SsEESsEE

s s

Very rapid walk. ..G SsESsESsE

s s s


Very rapid walk. ..H SSESSESSE

If greatly winded. . J SESESESE

If heart is weak. ..KSSSEEESSSEEE

A—Inhale three sniffs for three steps, then exhale in a gush covering

three steps ; do not exhale in sniffs.

B—Inhale four sniffs for four steps, exhale in a gush covering three

steps.

C—Inhale three sniffs for three steps, exhale in a gush covering two

steps.

D—Inhale three sniffs for three steps, exhale covering one step.

E—Inhale one deep sniff for first step, two short sniffs for second step,

and one deep sniff for third step, exhale covering next two steps.

F—Inhale one sniff for first step, two short sniffs for second step,

exhale covering next two steps.

G—Inhale as in F, but exhale covering the third step.

H—Inhale two sniffs for two steps, exhale covering next step.

J—Inhale at first step, exhale at second step. A dozen such inhalations

should banish shortness of breath.

K—Inhale in sniffs for three steps, exhale in sniffs for the next threesteps.

These combinations of Vitalic Breathing

have been thoroughly tested and will suit the

great majority of people. Practice the

combination best fitted for your breathing

apparatus.

RUNNING.

123456789 10 11 12

A SSSESSSES SSE

B SSEESSEESSEE

C SSESSESSESEE

D s E s E s E

s s s

E SESESESE

A—Inhale three sniffs covering three strides, exhale covering the next

stride.

B—Inhale two sniffs covering two strides, exhale covering next two

strides.

C—Inhale two sniffs covering two strides, exhale on the third stride.

D—Inhale in two short sniffs for the first stride, exhale covering the

next stride.

E—Inhale at the first stride, exhale at the next.

Slow running

Slow running.

Fast running.

Fast running.

If winded


Use the nose only for breathing while you

run. Short runs daily for practice will soon

develop your breathing capacity, so that a half

mile jog at a fairly rapid gait will not incon

venience you to any marked degree.

Good posture is synonymous with good health. Learn to walk,sit, and stand correctly.

THE ELASTIC SWAY

FIGURE ONE

This exercise will help to produce all around elas

ticity of the body, and will also prove stimulating to

the internal organs.

Directions— Stand erect, heels about ten inches

apart. Extend the arms loosely on a line with the

shoulders directly to the front (Figure i). Swing

the arms and torso as far around to the right side as

77

THE ELASTIC SWAY

FIGURE TWO

possible, at the same time tilting the head and eyes to

follow the movements of the hands. Hold this posi

tion one second. Then swing back the arms and torso

to the left side with the same movements. Arms must

be extended at the shoulder height. Feet must not be

moved while executing this exercise.

Breathing Directions— As you proceed to

79

THE ELASTIC SWAY

FIGURE THREE

swing the arms to the right side, take a deep breath,

and hold it for one second before exhaling. Exhale

as you swing arms to the left side. Inhale and hold

breath as you return to the right side. Follow this

method continuously while you perform this exercise.

Inhale and exhale through the nose.

81

CHAPTER IV

BE AN UPSTANDING MAN

The secret of good posture. Body-slouch,

health-slouch, mind-slouch. The successful

man stands erect. Climb stairs, climb hills,

sniff, and climb to health.

Stand erect, chest well out without forcing

or straining; square the shoulders, but do not

draw them tightly.

The abdomen, whether prominent or not,

should be somewhat forcibly drawn in, as the

internal organs will be better supported in

that position.

The head should be held squarely, so that

the eyes look directly in front.

Do not tilt the head, or stick out the chin.

Keep your neck perfectly flexible — not stif

fened in any way.

The secret of good posture is freedom and

ease. Eliminate tenseness and rigidness, as

a tightening, or stiffening of the muscles will

result in a strained, unnatural appearance.

While sitting, hold the body loosely erect

83


and comfortable. Flat chests, round shoul

ders and improper posture, aside from the

slovenly appearance, tend to make people

lethargic, and do not promote good health.

Sit erect. Don't slouch.

A daily, systematic posture-exercise will

in a few months correct the tendencies to a

slovenly posture and give you square shoul

ders, deep chest, more vitality, an improved

lung capacity and more powerful heart action.

Avoid Toeing Out, or In

Practice Correct Foot-Control

Always walk with the toes pointed straight

to the front. Avoid toeing out, or in. Proper

posture, combined with correct foot-control,

and the wearing of shoes that are properly

adapted for your feet, will to a great degree

prevent the tendency to fallen arches and

other foot troubles.

It is a simple thing to cultivate an erect,

graceful carriage, and yet scarcely one young

man in one hundred stands or walks erectly.

Universal training along military lines, when

adopted, will work wonders for the boys and

young men of this country.

Through excessive cigarette smoking, many

young men fall into a slouchy, stooped shoul

BE AN UPSTANDING MAN 85

der posture. Vitalic Breathing will help to

correct this, and also prevent an excessive

desire for smoking, as the added oxygen

inhaled will diminish the craving for tobacco.

The Successful Man Always

Carries Himself Like a Winner

In the business world correct posture is

desirable and profitable. Notice the success

ful executive. He holds himself erect; those

holding minor positions often are round-

shouldered and stooped. This is especially

true in the retail store field.

If you are compelled to sit at a desk several

hours daily, straighten up occasionally, and

take in a dozen sniff breaths.

Before engaging in any important confer

ence stand erect and breathe in sniffs for two

or three minutes. This will charge your blood

with oxygen, awaken your intellect and clear

your mind, and thus you will have a greater

chance to win your point than your opponent,

who is not so prepared.

While automobiling, occasionally breathe in

sniffs, thus exercising your internal organs,

properly oxygenating your blood, and your

drive will be a source of health as well as

pleasure.


All these breathing exercises, besides

improving your posture, will also keep you

free from lung troubles.

Deep breathing may be used while doing

stretching exercises, and also while walking,

when sniff breathing is not used.

Before beginning any exercise take a deep

breath and hold it for a few seconds then

exhale through the nose and take a fresh deep

breath.

Never take any form of exercise with the

mouth open, except swimming. This is the

solitary exercise in which it may be necessary

to " gulp " the air through the open mouth.

While exercising the mouth should be tightly

closed whenever possible, and the lungs kept

comfortably filled with air.

Deep Breathing Tires You—

Vitalic Breathing Will Not

The usual method of deep breathing is val

uable but exhausting, and ordinarily, after a

few brief trials, is discontinued. Breathing

in sniffs and packing the air in the lungs and

exhaling quickly and forcibly, not only ex

pands the chest, but exercises the diaphragm,

and after some practice becomes second

nature. Round shoulders never develop


when Vitalic Breathing is adopted. It pro

duces erect carriage, the envy of the weak,

hollow chested, inert, half invalid humans

one meets by the thousand. With a little

regular, daily effort everyone can vastly im

prove his health and his appearance, and soon

radiate success.

It is amazing how quickly the chest will

round out and expand when Vitalic Breathing

is practiced and erect posture is combined.

To fully realize the difference between deep

and Vitalic Breathing stand erect, chest well

expanded. Now place the tips of the fingers

over the diaphragm and take a long, deep

breath in the regular way. Scarcely any

movement of the diaphragm will result. Now

take a few sniff-breaths and your fingers will

feel the movement of the diaphragm. Remove

your fingers and watch the movements of the

center of your chest as you breathe in sniffs.

See how the jerky motions are recorded. Your

diaphragm is being exercised — also all your

other internal organs.

Little wonder then, the marvelous results

obtained by those who regularly practice

Vitalic Breathing. Deep breathing is indeed

excellent. But for increased vitality, poise,

strength and freedom from fatigue and dis


ease, adopt Vitalic Breathing, the internal

exercise.

Can you climb ten flights of stairs rapidly

without suffering lung fatigue or becoming

short-winded ?

No. You cannot.

Then can you climb five flights of stairs ?

You still answer in the negative.

Even at three flights you shake your head.

A Test for Your Lungs—

Try It and Be Surprised

Here is the way to mount even a dozen

flights of stairs quickly, with a minimum of

lung fatigue, and without becoming short-

winded or distressed:

As you place your right foot on the first

step sniff in a short jerky breath and hold it ;

as you place your left foot on the second step

take a second such sniff. As you place your

right foot on the third step forcibly exhale

both breaths. Then immediately begin at the

fourth step to duplicate the same procedure,

and continue to breathe that way and, even

after a climb of a dozen flights of stairs, you

will be astonished at how little lung fatigue

you experience.

Do not forget to keep the mouth tightly


closed while climbing stairs. Never inhale or

exhale through the mouth; always use the

nose. Endeavor at all times to inhale while

the weight of the body is supported on one

foot.

Remember, breathe in two sniffs for the

first two steps, then immediately forcibly

exhale on the third step. Breathe that way

continuously while mounting stairs.

Vitalic Breathing Makes Fun

Of Hill and Stair Climbing

A bodily infirmity most often makes its

presence known in the ability or lack of ability

to climb a hill or a flight of stairs.

If you have to breathe through your mouth

while mounting, or if you are winded after

a few minutes of it, you are not breath

ing properly, or you have not cultivated

proper endurance by the daily use of Vitalic

Breathing.

It is my firm belief, founded on observation

and tests by my pupils that daily hill-climbing

is an exercise that will re-make the body,

unless one is suffering from tuberculosis or

heart disease, and even in these distressing

conditions, daily climbs of short but ever

increasing duration will often prove bene


ficial. These climbs, if suffering from heart

or lung trouble, should be under the super

vision of your physician,

Nearly every one shuns hill-climbing, for

the simple reason that it causes short breath

and tires the limbs. This condition is over

come with Vitalic Breathing. Study carefully

the instructions outlined here, and make up

your mind to devote a few minutes daily to

hill-climbing, for it is a pleasant exercise

and a wonderful body-builder, when properly

done.

When you begin to climb a steep incline, or

stairs, inhale twice for two steps and imme

diately exhale forcibly covering the next step,

then at once inhale and exhale as before. The

mouth must always remain closed.

Should you be at all winded and feel that

you must open the mouth, take one deep

breath in through the nostrils for one step and

force the air out immediately at the next. This

method of single inhaling and exhaling rests

the lungs and removes fatigue.

In the single step breathing, manage to fill

your lungs just as the ball of the foot touches

the ground. Half a dozen such single breaths

will remove the excess of carbon dioxide from

the lungs.


Remember always to hold the body as erect

as possible while walking or climbing hills. If

you rigidly follow these instructions you may

climb hills and stairs for an exceedingly long

period without being distressed or winded,

because you are keeping the lungs free from

the accumulation of carbon-dioxide, and

the poisons of fatigue produced by tissue

destruction.

Do not converse while climbing hills as you

are more likely to become fatigued when

talking is combined with walking. Breathe

through the nose inhaling and forcibly

exhaling.

This Method Is a Real Boon

For Wives Who Have to Climb

Housewives suffer most from stair climb

ing. Owing to the exigencies of household

duties they are compelled to climb stairs many

times each day. Those who are excessively

corpulent dread stair climbing, and yet it is

almost as simple to mount two or three flights

of stairs as it is to walk on level ground.

Just inhale in sniffs twice covering two

steps then exhale once covering the next step,

breathing always through the nose. Keep the

mouth closed while mounting stairs and


breathe in sniffs continuously, this will prac

tically eliminate all lung fatigue.

If you are excessively corpulent and feel at

all distressed from stair climbing while inhal

ing twice and exhaling forcibly at once, then

practice consecutive inhaling and exhaling at

each step; this will surely tend to overcome

lung fatigue.

Many of my pupils, who used to dread the

daily grind of stair-climbing at home and

abroad, now cut out the elevator, even when

it is available, for the joy they get from stair

climbing exercises combined with Vitalic

Breathing.

THE LIVER BREATH

FIGURE ONE

This exercise energizes the liver and other internal

organs. It also is excellent for the spine, and fre

quently found most useful in correcting a tendency to

constipation.

Directions— Stand erect, heels separated about

twelve inches. Bend the body well over to the front,

one knee slightly bent. Keep the eyes fixed on an

object between the feet during the execution of this

exercise. Raise the right arm as high above the head

93

THE LIVER BREATH

FIGURE TWO

as possible, at the same time touching the floor with the

left hand (Figure i). Then reverse these movements

( Figure 2). Do not move the eyes from a fixed object

during the execution of the Liver Breath. Raising the

body a few inches as the arms are raised and lowered

is permissible.

Breathing Directions— Sniff in once as you

raise the right arm. Exhale forcibly as you begin to

raise the left arm. Breathe only through the nose.

95

CHAPTER V

DAILY PERSONAL HYGIENE

Morning exercise wakens body and mind.

Take care of your eyes. The daily bath bat

tles nervousness. The first shower-bath, 126

B. C. Nature pulls your hair to make you

breathe. Vitalic Breathing a hair restorer.

Proper care of the body will be repaid by-

good health, normal functioning and freedom

from nervousness.

When you arise in the morning drink a

glass or two of cold water, not iced. This

will stimulate the muscles of the stomach and

act on the intestines as a tonic.

Take twenty-five upper breaths {see pic

tured instructions) and then a few minutes

of stretching exercises before the open win

dow. Unless the weather is very cold, the

body should be quite moist with perspiration

when you have finished.

Then take a cool shower or spray. Warm

water, gradually cooled, may be found more

to your liking.

After breakfast brush the teeth and gums

97


thoroughly with a good tooth powder — this

has a better cleansing effect than a paste —

using the brush with a circular motion. Also

use a tongue scraper, or a well-wetted tooth

brush to remove foreign matter on the back

of the tongue. Make tongue cleansing a

daily habit.

When you step into the street, your

body should be fairly tingling with energy,

and success should radiate from your very

presence.

Walk at least ten minutes before going to

your place of business, and on this walk

breathe in sniffs. If you are compelled to

ride, take several sniff breaths before enter

ing the street car.

While at work endeavor occasionally to take

a few sniff breaths at an open window, and

do everything possible to have your place

of business well supplied with fresh air.

Let Your Luncheon Be Light

Take a Walk After Lunch

Eat a rather light luncheon. Do not take

an excess of liquid with your food, be sure

and get at least a ten minutes' walk before

returning to your place of business.

Take your heavy meal in the evening.

DAILY PERSONAL HYGIENE 99

Walk at least half an hour before retiring,

and do not retire until at least three hours

have elapsed after eating.

Before going to bed brush your teeth and

gums thoroughly, and clean the tongue as

in the morning. Drink a glassful or two

of water, hot preferred.

Gargle your throat with hot or cold water

a few times each day, and every evening

before retiring. Do not use douches and

washes for the nose as an internal applica

tion. A little luke warm or cool salted water,

gently sniffed, is good when the nose is

clogged with dust, or with secretions, but

avoid indiscriminate washing out of the deep

nasal passages as it interferes with the nat

ural efficiency of the mucus membrane. Also,

you are likely to carry infective material into

the sinuses or into the eustachean tube —

causing painful and dangerous abscesses.

Take Good Care of Your Eyes

You Will Never Have Another Pair

Do not strain your eyes by reading in a

poor light. Immerse forehead and eyes in

cool water two or three times a week before

retiring. It will be found quite helpful.

Remember always that you will never have


another pair of eyes. Take good care of

those you have. Vitalic Breathing will keep

your body fit, and should help your eyes to

serve you well through life. But if you

begin to feel that your eyes are not right,

consult a good oculist. The vision changes

with age, and those who must use glasses

may have to change their glasses several

times between forty and sixty.

Your eyes cannot do their best work for

you if your body is not fit, and your body

cannot be fit if your bowels are not normally

active.

Stretching exercises, sniff breathing and

eating coarse, bulky foods will usually cor

rect even the most stubborn case of con

stipation. But at least half an hour's walk

should be taken daily to gain full bowel

efficiency and bodily health. The Vitalic Sway

and the Vibration Breath are excellent exer

cises for stimulating and functioning the

bowels, and they should be used when needed.

See detailed, pictured instructions.

Care for your body, but do not become a

crank on the subject. If you devote but fif

teen or twenty minutes to the system outlined

here each day, your friends will greet a new

acquaintance, radiating health.


Do not shirk daily exercise ; persistency and

system in hygienic living will keep your body

elastic and strong, even when advanced in

age.

Bathing Should Be a Delight

Get Your Full Share of It

The man who takes proper care of his body

soon learns that bathing is one of the real

delights. Be sure to get your full share of it.

After arising in the morning, if it be cool

weather, or if you do not care for an imme

diate cold spray, take a warm spray over

the body, but not over the head. Then turn

on the cold water and spray for a minute

or two. Should the weather be cold, be care

ful to have the bathroom properly heated.

You should feel stimulated and refreshed at

the end of the cold spray. Rub the body

vigorously with a rough towel. This should

cause the skin of the torso to glow and pre

sent a pinkish apearance from the awakening,

coursing blood.

In warm weather the cold spray is best

suited for the majority of people. Showers

and sprays are now recognized as being more

sanitary and healthful than the old fashioned

method of immersing the body in a tub of


water, although in the selection of the health

bath the reader must be guided somewhat by

experience. It is the healthful afterglow

that tells the tale of benefit.

A daily spray or shower should be made

a life habit. It invigorates and strengthens

the body, promotes vitality, and is excellent

for keeping weight at normal.

Nervousness and worry often yield to the

magic influence of the daily bath. In this

daily bathing soap need be used but once

or twice a week.

Your Duty to the Children

Includes Teaching Them to Bathe

Children should be taught early the value

of cold water bathing, and every home should

be equipped with two or three appliances

for this purpose. You are missing one of

the greatest health assets if you do not form

the habit of daily bathing.

The hair should be washed at least once a

week for men, less frequently for women.

While under the cold spray practice Vitalic

Breathing in some form. This will be found

most exhilarating.

Taking a hot water bath in cool weather

the first thing in the morning is a most dan


gerous procedure, if a cold spray or immer

sion is not used following the warm water.

A warm bath at night relaxes the nerves and

tends to promote drowsiness and sleep, while

a cold bath generally has the opposite effect.

Quite often hours elapse before sleep is wooed

after taking a cold bath before retiring.

Take your cold bath in the morning and

awaken your body for the work of the day.

A warm bath at night will prove soothing

and restful, and will tend to promote sleep.

Shower Baths Known in Ancient Days

Our Thanks to Asclepiades of Prusa

Hot and cold bathing, when used scien

tifically, is a curative force. From the earliest

ages the ancients used and appreciated daily

ablutions as a matter of cleanliness and as

a maintainer of health.

Dr. Edwin F. Bowers, in his book, " Bath

ing for Health," mentions that Asclepiades of

Prusa, who was born in 126 B. C, was cred

ited with the invention of the shower bath.

Through all ancient history we frequently

read that bathing of the body was keenly

enjoyed by the ancients, and that medical

authorities of older days employed it exten

sively in their practice.


When used for strictly curative purposes

hydrotherapy, the water cure, should be han

dled intelligently, and strict care should be

exercised so that the application is not car

ried to excess nor to the point of exhaustion,

when more harm than good may result.

If it were possible for every person to

spend a couple of weeks each year at the

seashore, enjoying the invigorating, magnetic

stimulus of surf-bathing, what an aid and

help to health that would be! The exhilira-

tion of sea-bathing, the freedom from cloth

ing that usually binds the limbs, the feeling

of energy produced by the surf, the bracing

air and sunshine, all combine to energize and

stimulate the body, and help to make one

feel young and joyous.

But if it is impossible to have surf or lake

bathing, then do the next best thing; join

a gymnasium, if for no other purpose than

to secure the benefits of a swimming pool

where you can enjoy a daily plunge.

Why Nature Pulls Your Hair

Will You Not Heed Her Warning?

A luxurious growth of hair is yearned for

by every man and woman in the world. It

is a sad reflection on our present mode of


living that there is an ever increasing ten

dency towards baldness among our younger

men. Loss of hair is one of Nature's meth

ods of punishment for indifferent care of our

bodies. Nature knows that men are sensitive

regarding a hirsute deficiency, so she tries to

arouse them by hair pulling, in her desperate

efforts to awaken them to the fact that they

are not breathing in sufficient oxygen daily

for the complete needs of the body, and are

neglecting other vital hygienic principles. But

the average man is too busy thinking about

other less important things to notice Nature's

warning of a dangerous condition existant

in his body. So the hairs become more num

erous in his comb and presently a round,

shiny bald spot appears in spite of hair tonics

and shampoos vigorously applied by a bald-

headed barber.

If you are less than forty years of age

and losing your hair it is often possible to

stop the loss and promote a new growth of

hair by Vitalic Breathing. In case of total

baldness from atrophy of the hair follicles, it

is practically impossible to restore the hair,

but it will not do any harm to try.

Regulate your diet and habits too. Coffee

drinking and excessive smoking are persistent


foes of good hair. Walk in the fresh air

daily for half an hour, and breathe in sniffs

and see how quickly your hair will respond

to this simple treatment. Practice the Internal

Breath for a few minutes daily, as that exer

cise is a valuable aid to the growth of hair.

These exercises will help to energize your

hair and scalp, even if you are advanced in

years.

THE MAGNETIC BREATH

THE MAGNETIC BREATH

FIGURE TWO

heels separated about twelve inches. Twist the torso

at the hips towards the right side, but do not change

the position of the feet. Then forcibly thrust both

arms upward, allowing the head and eyes to follow

the directions of the thrust (Figure i). Swing the

torso exactly to the center, and again thrust the arms

upward. Repeat this upward thrust as you swing to

the left side. Now lower the arms at right angles to

the body, and thrust out toward the left side. Swing

the torso straight to the front, and thrust arms out

109

THE MAGNETIC BREATH

FIGURE THREE

(Figure 2). Repeat this thrust on the right side.

Then lower the body and forcibly thrust arms down,

and in a slightly outward direction (Figure j).

Repeat in the front and continue on to the left side.

Then return to position number one, and continue

exercise. The Magnetic Breath should be executed

two or three minutes daily for best results. Remem

ber to let your eyes follow the direction of each thrust,

also do not move your feet while swaying your body

to the left or right side. Arms should be separated

about twenty inches.

Breathing Directions— Breathe in three

sniffs, covering the first three thrusts, exhale through

the nose at the fourth thrust. Make this breathing

method continuous while you execute this exercise.

Ill

CHAPTER VI

WHY FATIGUE?

Too much food produces poison. The

lunch counter crime. Chest breathing a lazy

habit ; mouth for eating, not breathing. Incor

rect posture and mental depression. Make

your body worthy of pride and carry it

proudly.

The life of mankind is being extended as

the years advance. We are living to a greater

age now than we did twenty-five years ago.

But it is chiefly in childhood years that the life

of man is lengthening. Sanitation and appli

cation of the lessons of modern research

regarding the health of children is responsible

for this.

However, more men and women are dying

between the ages of forty and fifty years than

ever before. In the prime of life and glory

of manhood and womanhood we are cut

down in a twinkling.

Three predominant causes are responsible

for this sad and unnecessary condition. The

first of these is the consumption of food in

113


excess of the needs or requirements of the

body. This occasions an accumulation of poi

sonous matter in the body, which is absorbed

into the blood, thereby breeding a large pro

portion of all the diseases from which we

suffer.

This morbid accumulation also makes us

prone to fatigue, and produces the tired, all-in

exhaustion to which ninety-nine people in

every hundred are inclined, and while in this

condition we become easy victims to the

destroyers, fatigue and disease.

Food is rarely associated with bodily

fatigue, but too much food or improper food

combinations invariably breed disease in the

body, and where disease is, also fatigue

thrives and tears down health, strength and

efficiency.

Beware the Quick Lunch Counter

Avoid Pastry and Starchy Foods

To the direful result of the starchy quick

lunch may be attributed the falling-off of

energy in the afternoon in the labor of the

average worker. There is indisputable evi

dence that more and better work is delivered

in the forenoon period of production. This

may be traced to improper noontime lunches,

WHY FATIGUE? 115

as has been emphasized by Dr. William H.

Porter, in " Eating to Live Long " — a won

derfully helpful and practical work on diet

and health.

Instead of white bread, cakes, and pies for

luncheon, which may be classed as devitaliz

ing, fatigue-breeding foods, one should sub

stitute a repast of thick, nourishing soup,

vegetables and whole grain bread. How

much more energizing would this food be.

And instead of a reduced afternoon output an

increased quantity of work would result.

Ignorance and Sheer Laziness

Have Made Us a Race of Shallow Breathers

The second cause of fatigue and a short

span of life is brought about by improper

breathing. We have become a nation of

sloths as far as scientific understanding of

breathing in connection with fatigue and dis

ease is concerned. Through ignorance and

sheer laziness we have developed into a race

of shallow breathers.

Nature provided us with a breathing

apparatus voluntarily and involuntarily con

trolled. How many of us have stopped to

consider the reason for this? All-wise Nature

had good and sufficient reasons for allowing


us to change our breathing method at will.

We cannot voluntarily change the pulsation

of the heart. Then why can we breathe

slowly or rapidly, or hold our breath a con

siderable time? Simply because wonderful

Nature has been trying for centuries to teach

us correct breathing, and the breathing that

is best adapted to overcome fatigue must be

of the conscious variety.

Do You Breathe Through the Mouth?

If So, Something Is Wrong With You

If you are at all inclined to breath through

your mouth you are not breathing correctly.

If you become winded while walking rap

idly and are forced to resort to mouth breath

ing, you are not breathing properly.

If you must use your mouth for breathing

while climbing stairs or hills, you are not

breathing in the correct fashion.

If you run for a short distance and become

winded and are forced to resort to mouth

breathing, you are breathing inefficiently.

If you are at all lung-fatigued or winded

while taking ordinary exercise, then you must

change your old-fashioned method of breath

ing to fatigue-preventing inhaling and

exhaling.

WHY FATIGUE? 117

And the glory of breathing Nature's way

— the poisonous toxins of fatigue are forced

out of the lungs by Vitalic exhaling before

they prove a source of fatigue.

Vitalic inhaling packs the lungs with

health-giving oxygen from top to bottom,

thereby tending to prevent disease germs

from gaining a foothold, and helping to over

come fatigue.

Besides purifying the blood, brightening

the eye, electrifying the step, and promoting

vim, energy, and strength, Vitalic Breathing

tunes up every organ and tissue of the body.

Do You Look the World in the Eye?

You Cannot If You Are a Slouch

The third source of fatigue may be attrib

uted to improper posture.

Incorrect posture invites fatigue. If you

stand, walk or sit in a stooped, negative

position, you are leaving yourself open to

your meanest foe, fatigue.

Square shoulders, a rounded chest, a

straight spine, all these positive attributes

help to banish fatigue and disease.

Where negative body conditions exist dis

ease and fatigue hold sway. Particularly,

morbidness, depression and nervousness may


often be traced to prolapsed intestines

brought about by incorrect posture.

Too much food or inharmoniously com

bined foods cause fermentation, constipation,

and blood acidity, thereby attracting fatigue

and disease, through lowered power of

resistance.

The noxious toxins and poisons present in

the body may be banished almost immediately

by diet correction.

Study the chapter on foods and apply it to

your daily life.

Shallow-breathing is practiced almost

exclusively by the human race; consequently

disease and fatigue are rampant. Scarcely

one person in every five hundred reaches the

age of forty in perfect physical condition.

Pulmonary Diseases Will Die Out

When We Learn Correct Breathing

Hundreds of thousands of men and women

die each year from pulmonary diseases.- The

vast majority of these lives could be extended

for many years if correct breathing were

practiced.

Learn thoroughly the different phases of

breathing in connection with walking, run

ning and stair-climbing. Then put them into

WHY FATIGUE? 119

daily practice and the result will amaze and

delight you.

Make Your Body Worthy of Pride

And Carry It As It Deserves

Incorrect posture weakens the structure of

the body and makes us inefficient. Many of

the displacements of women's organs are

brought about by slouchy, improper posture.

When you hold your body erect, as if it

really belonged to you, then you have made a

giant stride in the elimination of fatigue and

disease. And it is quite simple to learn to

eat and breathe correctly, and hold your

body in proper position and poise.

The lungs extend well up to the collar

bones. Our imperfect, old-fashioned method

of ordinary breathing does not fully fill the

lungs. Consequently many of the lung cells

are not used, and disease and lung inefficiency

result.

Watch how the upper part of the chest fills

out when you practice Vitalic Breathing.

Every lung cell is in action, lung tissue is

being vitalized and the blood receives a

greater supply of life-giving oxygen.

Vitalic Breathing, after a few months' con

scious practice, will become unconscious with


you. Every time you walk or climb hills or

stairs you will naturally begin breathing in

sniffs, and consequently lung fatigue will

scarcely bother you at all.

Determine right now to link up your daily

life with Vitalic Breathing and eliminate

fatigue from your body.

Sleep and Rest Are Essential

Do You Get the Best of Them?

Before you retire take a few minutes of

Vitalic Breathing exercises. Relax your

body completely. Lie only on the right side

or on the front of the body, with the face to

one side. Do not sleep on the left side, nor

on the back. Experiments have proven that

these last named positions are not the best.

If you cannot sleep take this exercise.

Practice Vitalic Breathing either lying down

or standing at an open window for two or

three minutes. In obstinate cases of insomnia

it may be necessary to increase the duration

and the rapidity of the breathing.

If you suffer chronically from sleepless

ness, avoid any excitement before retiring.

Do not eat any heavy food for at least

three hours before going to bed. A glass of

hot water or warm milk, taken just before

WHY FATIGUE? 121

retiring is conducive to promoting sleep.

A brisk, ten-minutes' walk in the after

noon, and a long walk after the evening meal,

will do much to banish sleeplessness.

Insomnia is almost always conquerable, no

matter how chronic. Vitalic Breathing, mod

erate eating, and relaxation exercises are the

tools to be employed in its correction.

Half-Past-Ten to Half-Past-Six

The Best Hours for Peaceful Sleep

Seven to eight hours of sleep will probably

suit ninety adults out of every hundred.

From half past ten to half past six are

probably the best sleeping hours for the aver

age city man. Many perfectly healthy people

sleep but five or six hours each night, al

though many require eight or nine hours.

Insomnia is often traceable to constipation.

Make it a rule to evacuate the bowels each

night. This may often be accomplished by

Vitalic Breathing, combined with the consti

pation exercise. Avoid the use of cathartics

and enemas for this purpose, as they are

usually unnecessary if the constipation exer

cise is systematically practiced.

Poor ventilation is often the cause of

insomnia. The worst night air is superior to


the best inside air. Keep the bedroom win

dows opened top and bottom, winter and sum

mer. Even if the weather is rainy or foggy

get all the air possible into your sleeping

room. You cannot have too much fresh air,

provided you are properly covered and not

actually sleeping in a draft. There is always

a reason for sleeplessness, find out and eradi

cate the cause and the symptom of sleepless

ness will disappear. Occasionally a twenty-

four hour sleep and rest will prove invalu

able for overwrought nerves.

THE TENSING BREATH

FIGURE ONE

Strengthens the back and abdominal muscles,

stretches, stimulates and exercises the entire body,

and reduces excess fat.

Directions— Lie flat on a cot or bed. Grasp

edge of cot and push feet downwards, and head

upwards (Figure i). Endeavor with all your power

to try to increase your height by stretching your body

and limbs. Keep the lungs filled while tensing and

123

You are as old as your spine. Keep your spine straight. It isconducive to good health and a long life.

THE TENSING BREATH

FIGURE TWO

stretching, and exhale as you relax. Now inhale in

sniffs until lungs are packed, then bring your hands

over and behind your head, and grasp edge of cot,

and tense and stretch as before (Figure 2). Next

endeavor to come to a sitting position without raising

your heels (Figure 3). You may place your feet

under a radiator, bureau, strap, so that you will have

a fulcrum with which to enable you to sit up without

raising your feet. The Tensing Breath should be

125

THE TENSING BREATH

FIGURE THREE

adopted as a never deferred daily exercise. Even

its practice for a minute or two every day is fraught

with much benefit from a health standpoint.

Breathing Directions— As you lie flat,

inhale in sniffs, then grasp some object and stretch

the body, including the head. Exhale forcibly as you

relax. Inhale in sniffs as you begin to come to a sit

ting position, and exhale as you lie down.

127

CHAPTER VII

OVERWEIGHT AND UNDERWEIGHT

The perils of the fat and the worries of the

thin. Walk to normal. Food and exercise

regulation. Perseverance versus pleasure.

George Ade wrote the immortal mot

" Nobody loves a fat man," but it was Shakes

peare who voiced the world's distrust of men

like the " lean and hungry Cassius."

Unless you suffer from some ductless

gland disorder, you don't have to be too fat.

Neither is it necessary to be so skinny that

your neighbor will look at you askance.

Being over-fat is a most unpleasant and

dangerous condition, and a fatigue breeder.

Excessive eating and too little exercise are

the main reasons for it. Overweight causes

the internal organs to distend and to sag, and

often brings about heart trouble. Flat feet,

fallen arches, varicose veins, also weak knees

and ankles, are frequently the result of

excessive weight.

Many people who are too corpulent become

129


extremely sensitive, morbid and melancholy.

Women lose much of their charm because of

obesity. Men who are too fat often lack will

power and bodily elasticity, and lose apprecia

tion of the joy of living. If it were not seri

ous, it would be laughable to see a fat man

waddling along, proclaiming to the world that

he is a glutton and lacking the necessary will

power to correct his mode of living. So also

with the excessively stout woman — covert

smiles and expressions of sympathy greet her

as she goes from store to store seeking a gar

ment sufficiently large to cover her superflu

ous avoirdupois.

Yet with very few exceptions even the fat

test person can be brought down to normal

weight and this with safety and speed.

How to Reduce Sanely and Safely

Diet Alone Not the Best Way

It is unsafe to reduce weight by dieting

alone. To contract loose tissue and skin and

give support to internal organs corrective

stretching exercises should be taken in con

junction with dieting, and when Vitalic

Breathing is also combined, you have the per

fect method of reducing weight. Drugs for

reduction should be absolutely avoided, except

OVER AND UNDERWEIGHT 131

when required to correct an absolutely abnor

mal condition.

Here is a good system of reduction cover

ing a period of fifteen weeks.

First week: Exercise ten minutes daily,

using the Internal Breath, Obesity Bend and

Vitalic Sway. Walk one hour daily while

practicing Vitalic Breathing. Reduce your

food intake, avoid potatoes, pastry and

sweets altogether, and if you must have a

little bread, use only the whole wheat kind.

Drink five to ten glasses of water daily.

Second, third and fourth weeks: Exercise

twenty minutes each day in two or three

intervals, adding the Upper Breath to your

previous exercises. Walk an hour and a

half daily, breathing in sniffs. Still keep up

your water drinking.

Fifth to tenth week: Exercise a half hour

daily in three sections of ten minutes each, if

it can be so done. Have one period in the

evening. If evening exercise makes you

wakeful, practice in the morning or after

noon. Walk two hours daily while practicing

Vitalic Breathing. Watch your food intake.

Keep up your abstinence from too much

starchy and fattening food.

Eleventh to fifteenth week: Continue exer


cising half an hour daily. Walk two hours

daily. Continue drinking the five to ten

glasses of water. If still overweight, keep

rigidly to diet.

Daily bathing is essential with this regime.

When your weight is at normal, keep up

your walking exercises for at least half an

hour daily, while breathing in sniffs and obes

ity will trouble you no more. Make this a life

habit, and old age will be long deferred.

Common Sense Will Help, Too

Forget to Eat Dinner Now and Then

Always remember to use common sense in

the matter of food and do not overeat. Omit

ting a meal once or twice a week will be con

ducive to health and correct weight.

It is useless to try to reduce superfluous fat

without food regulation. If you could but

realize that you are in a dangerous condition

when you are overweight; that the power is

entirely in your own hands if you desire to

reduce, you soon would attain correct weight.

It is sheer laziness and folly to use drugs

of any kind for reduction, unless the condi

tion imperatively demands this. Eat in mod

eration, take long walks, and breathe in sniffs,

and see how quickly you will get your weight


down to normal. It takes will power to begin

but it is worth the price.

It is advisable to have your doctor examine

your heart before taking strenuous exercises

if you are overweight.

It is well to recollect that most foods and

drinks are fattening. Make it a strict rule to

reduce your usual consumption of food from

one-third to one-half. We consume entirely

too much food anyway, so give your stomach,

kidneys, intestines and blood a chance to

become normal again.

Do not test reduction by weight alone; use

the tape line. The body is two-thirds water,

and frequently several inches of reduction in

the waist line may come about, even though

your weight is apparently unchanged.

Lying on the floor and sitting up without

raising the heels is a helpful exercise in ban

ishing excess fat. Other floor exercises such

as rolling and leg raising also are most

beneficial.

If You Are Underweight

Here Are Suggestions That Will Help

Leanness may be the result of worry, insuf

ficient exercise or wrong eating. Impover

ished nerve force is also a cause of leanness.


It is futile to try to gain weight by over

feeding. Eat sufficiently of nutritious food

and see to it that you assimilate all that you

eat. Do not burden your nerves and digestive

system with too much food. Drink plenty of

pure water each day, walk one hour daily,

breathing in sniffs. Exercise in moderation

and you should find in a short time that you

are begining to put on flesh and are feeling

much better. Study carefully the question of

diet, and use foods best fitting your case.

Working in a confined office or store with

out proper ventilation often tends to keep one

thin, and this condition must be counterbal

anced by considerable walking in the fresh

air.

It is quite essential to be cheerful at all

times, avoid worry, keep active and be

warmly dressed in cold weather. A milk

diet is often beneficial, but moderate eat

ing of ordinary wholesome foods, plus plenty

of Vitalic Breathing and daily long walks,

will prove the best factor to promote healthy

flesh. Here is a short menu that will help

you to overcome leanness:

Breakfast: Rice, corn or wholewheat cereal—a large

portion with a generous quantity of

cream or milk. A small quantity of


sugar may be used, but it is preferable

to avoid the sugar. Do not partake of

any other food or drink for breakfast.

Luncheon: A large portion of thick soup, two or

three slices of whole wheat or rye bread

and butter, various vegetables and a

generous amount of cream cheese.

Drink a glass or two of cold water a

short time before your meal. If a warm

drink is desired, use hot tea only mildly

brewed. Use no fruits, sweets, acids,

ice cream or milk with your lunch; a

baked apple is the only safe fruit to

eat. Raisins, unsugared figs or dates

may also be safely eaten, but on no

account should any other kind of fruit

be taken, as indigestion and fermenta

tion may result. In warm weather a

salad of lettuce and tomatoes with

coarse bread makes an ideal luncheon.

Dinner: Soup, well cooked meat, vegetables,

coarse bread, simple pudding, mild tea,

raisins and nuts will provide a nutri

tious and well balanced harmonious

meal. You may eat any kind of acid

fruit before retiring providing at least

three hours have elapsed since partak

ing of the food. Cold or hot water may

be taken with the fruit.

It is much more difficult to gain flesh than

to reduce, consequently you must not become

discouraged if no result becomes apparent for


some time. Perseverance in right living

should, however, accomplish your desires, so

determine to stick to the end when you make

up your mind to conquer leanness.

DORMANT WALKING

FIGURE ONE

This looks like an old-fashioned exercise, but cer

tain new vital improvements have been added. It is

conducive to promoting good health by awakening

and vitalizing parts of the body which usually are al

most dormant. If every individual would practice

Dormant Walking for five minutes each night just

before retiring ive would hear less complaints about

137

DORMANT WALKING

poor circulation, fallen arches, headaches, cold feet,

flat feet, nervousness, insomnia, constipation and

many other, troubles.

Directions—The function of this exercise is

to walk on the toes, keeping the heels off the ground

at all times (Figure i). Step off with the left foot,

as your toes touch the ground (Figure 2), push back

139

DORMANT WALKING

FIGURE THREE

the relaxed left knee so that the entire left leg is

unbent (Figure j). Then push back the relaxed

right knee as the toes of the right foot touch the

ground (Figure 4). Keep walking on the toes, and

continuously practice the pushing back of the knees

as you step. This straightening of the knee will give

a certain spring to each step; this elasticity of move-

141

DORMANT WALKING

ment is exactly what is required. Hold the body

erect, walk rapidly, and swing the arms freely while

practicing Dormant Walking.

Breathing Directions— Inhale three sniffs

for three steps, exhale forcibly at the fourth step,

inhale three sniffs for the next three steps, and exhale

as before at the fourth step. Sniffing and exhaling

must be continuous while you practice Dormant Walk

ing, no laughing, talking, or mouth breathing should

be indulged in.

143

CHAPTER VIII

FOR SCHOOL TEACHERS AND

INDOOR WORKERS

The deserving teacher. Vitalic Breathing

a weapon against nervousness and irate par

ents. Vitalic Breathing a mental stimulus for

children. The school lunchroom. The devi

talized indoor worker. Do more than eat at

the lunch hour — walk — breathe. Live

sanely.

School teachers and women who work

indoors commonly suffer from the effect of

improper breathing, poor ventilation and

insufficient exercise. These devoted women

deserve the good health that Nature is ready

to give everyone.

If there is any profession in America that

should be well-remunerated, it is that of a

school teacher. The average teacher is

a father, mother, guide, and teacher all

combined.

The teachers in our schools are loyal, con

scientious, devoted workers. They are true,

patriotic, unselfish Americans, endeavoring to

145


do all in their power to the utmost extent of

their ability to promote the mental, moral

and physical advancement and welfare of the

boys and girls entrusted to their care.

Parents, do you properly appreciate and

sympathetically realize the trying, arduous

tasks and problems which confront the

teacher day after day?

The Problem of the Teacher

Do Your Part to Help Her

In schools all over America are children

who reflect the actions of a careless mother,

an indifferent father, a loveless, inefficient

home. Through this lack of proper training

and wrong home environment children some

times become unruly, careless, and even

vicious. When this type of children fail to

pass examinations and are disciplined for

lack of good deportment, instead of guiding

and advising the children, the parents quite

often become indignant, and rush off to the

school to interview the principal or berate the

teacher.

Little wonder then that the nerves and

health of teachers suffer, when such condi

tions exist, and how essential it is for teach

ers to have perpetual poise and normality to

FOR SCHOOL TEACHERS 147

maintain health and equilibrium under such

harassing conditions.

If every school teacher in America, both

men and women, would master the science of

Vitalic Breathing and practice it faithfully

for a short time each day, what a giant bul

wark would soon be created against nervous

ness, fatigue, and disease.

Then by instructing their pupils, how

quickly would the health and efficiency thus

generated reflect in the children concerned!

Sickly, morbid little ones would become lively

and happy. Dull minds would develop into

active intellects; gone would be the majority

of children's diseases because where Vitalic

Breathing is practiced disease does not thrive.

What a glorious opportunity is offered to

the teachers of this great country! It is in

your power — teachers of America — to con

quer disease and fatigue, and to spread the

truth of Vitalic Breathing all over the land.

The Simplest Way Is the Best

Nature's Remedies All Are Natural

Do not pass up Vitalic Breathing because

it is so simple. Test Nature's own breathing

system and, later, when you wonder and

rejoice at the reward it brings you, then in


turn teach those little ones who look up to you

as their advisor. Only great good and happi

ness can result.

. Here is a seven minute daily schedule

which will help to banish disease and lung

fatigue from the children of America:

One minute devoted to the Upper Breath.

One minute to the Internal Breath.

Two minutes to walking while practicing

Vitalic Breathing.

One minute's running while practicing

Vitalic Breathing.

One minute devoted to the Vitalic Sway.

One minute's practice of Dormant Walking.

These exercises must be done exactly as

outlined and explained elsewhere in this book.

Remember to inhale and exhale always

through the nose. There should be no laugh

ing, talking or mouth breathing while execut

ing these exercises.

Danger in Overheated School Rooms

Food in Lunchrooms Must Be Right

Give these exercises every school day in

the year, inside if necessary, but in the open

air if possible. Ventilation of classrooms

should be by means of the windows.

The overheating of rooms during cold


weather is a serious menace to the health of

pupils and teachers, and it is a sad reflection

on many school heads that such unhygienic

conditions are prevalent in schools all over

the country.

Where lunchrooms are installed in schools

the greatest care should be given to the kinds

of food offered for sale. In Alfred W.

McCann's book, " Starving America," you

may read that over 400,000 children are pre

maturely killed in America every year by

improper food. This statement is amply sub

stantiated by facts and statistics. Accord

ingly study the many phases of inharmonious

and harmonious food combinations. Read

the newer books on this subject and benefit

by the modern discoveries in this all-impor

tant, ever-present subject.

From my experience with diet I strongly

favor but two types of school luncheons.

First — A bowl of thick, nutritious meat

and vegetable soup with several slices of

coarse whole wheat bread. Such a luncheon

is not acid-forming when eaten by itself, and

will afford ample nourishment to any boy

or girl, man or woman.

Second— This luncheon may be alternated

with a milk and whole wheat bread and meat


or cheese sandwich — one or two generously

large sandwiches, supplemented by a large

glass of pure milk. Any kind of well-cooked,

tender meat may be combined with the coarse

bread. Only the plain domestic or imported

cream cheese should be eaten.

The soup and bread luncheon could be

given on one day, and the milk and sandwich

luncheon the following day.

Never supply any other foods or drinks

with these noon lunches. Gas, fermentation,

and indigestion may result.

Especially avoid:

Pastry

White flour, crackers and bread

Candy

Pickles

Raw fruit, except apples as permitted

Preserves or cooked fruit with sugar

added

Tea, coffee, cocoa, soft drinks.

If a dessert must be given with either of

these lunches choose :

Vanilla or chocolate ice cream

Apple pie or apple cake

Baked apple without sugar

Raw apple with soup luncheon only

Raisins, figs or dates.


If this food list is strictly adhered to in

connnection with the Vitalic Breathing exer

cises, there is laid the foundation of health

and efficiency for the men and women of

tomorrow.

Teachers, the nation places its greatest

treasures under your guardianship. These

little minds that must be moulded, trained,

and drilled by you, are the future judges,

ministers, teachers, leaders, parents, states

men, and presidents. Then see to it that you

teach not only the ordinary subjects, but that

you also impart to your charges the wisdom

of keeping always well by proper eating and

Vitalic Breathing.

Problems of Indoor Workers

A Few Simple Rules to Follow

Many saleswomen, stenographers and

indoor women workers suffer from indiges

tion, headaches and lack of vitality. These

conditions usually are the result of inactivity,

improper eating and incorrect breathing.

They may be readily overcome by adopting

a sensible method of living. Follow the

directions systematically as outlined here and

you may be efficient, well and happy.

Be sure to drink one or two glassfuls of


cold water after arising; take a few minutes

of breathing and stretching exercises. It is

not necessary to take the stretching exercises

unless enjoyed, but they are most helpful if

practiced regularly. Then apply cool water

to your body by a spray shower or by means

of a sponge. Then a vigorous rubbing with a

heavy towel and, presto! a few minutes later

a thoroughly alive, dynamic person is ready

for breakfast. A large portion of hot or cold

cereal with milk or cream is the ideal break

fast for the indoor worker. A little sugar

may be added if craved. Fruit in its natural

form, without additions may be alternated

with the cereal breakfast, but never take acid

fruit with cereal milk or sugar. Then thor

oughly wash the gums and teeth with a fairly

stiff, wide toothbrush covered with an ample

quantity of tooth powder. Thoroughly brush

or scrape the tongue as well.

As you leave the house begin to practice

Vitalic Breathing. Step off vigorously and

sniff in three times for three steps ; then exale

forcibly, covering the next two steps. Inhale

and exhale through the nose always, never

through the mouth, and make the sniff breath

ing continuous. Walk at least five minutes

every morning before taking a car or entering


your place of business. This five minute walk

with sniff breathing is absolutely essential to

your health, and will tend to keep you fit.

Keep your body well erect during your morn

ing walk. In the forenoon if you have the

opportunity breath in sniffs for a minute or

two.

Make Good Use of the Lunch Hour

Eating Isn't All You Have to Do

If you leave your place of business for

luncheon, get another brisk walk of five or

ten minutes' duration, while practicing Vitalic

Breathing.

If you take luncheon in the building where

you are employed make it a life habit to

breathe in sniffs for at least three minutes

some time during your lunch hour.

The ideal luncheon for an indoor worker

in winter is a large portion of thick nutritious

soup with a few slices of buttered whole

wheat bread. You may add eggs, cheese or

a small portion of well cooked meat, but the

thick soup and bread provide all the energy

required to keep you well and strong.

If you crave fruit, apples, pears or raisins

are advised.

During hot weather your luncheon gen


erally should be free from meat and pastry.

A salad of sliced tomatoes and lettuce served

without vinegar is most desirable. Several

slices of buttered whole wheat bread may also

be taken. An ideal luncheon for hot weather

is a large portion of watermelon. This sup

plies bulk and roughage, satisfies hunger and

does not burden the body with acid or toxins.

For your evening meal you may eat liberal

portions of any well cooked foods, but do not

overeat.

Try the Daily Evening Walk

It Will Work Wonders for You

And now comes one of the most important

items of correct living, a brisk walk of ten to

thirty mintues or more duration, breathing in

sniffs the entire time. This evening walk must

be taken every night in the year. No matter

if it is raining cats and dogs, bundle yourself

up and take your walk. Whether it is hot or

cold, cultivate your will power to insist on

your evening hike. Let nothing interfere

with this walk and breathing exercise, and

you will be well repaid by increased efficiency,

vitality and good health. Half an hour to

an hour after eating is the best time for your

hike.

THE UPPER BREATH

FIGURE ONE

This is an incomparable breathing exercise that

works wonders in developing lung power. It is also

most useful in correcting catarrhal deafness. Ordinary

goitre, too, is often benefited by the practice of the

Upper Breath.

Directions—Exhale, stand erect with arms

loosely extended by the side (Figure i). Raise your

155

THE UPPER BREATH

FIGURE TWO

arms and begin to breathe in sniffs. At the third sniff

have the arms extended at right angles to the body

(Figure 2). Raise the arms higher at the fourth sniff,

and at the fifth sniff lock the index fingers above the

head (Figure 3). Hold the full inhalation for a sec

ond or two, then unlock fingers and bring arms rap

idly down to the sides, while exhaling through the

157

THE UPPER BREATH

nose. Repeat this Upper Breath about twenty times

every morning and evening. Results from this exer

cise will be found most beneficial, particularly to

women and men of middle age and beyond.

159

CHAPTER IX

SINEW OF THE NATION

Military training healthful. Value of Vi-

talic Breathing in military training. Sniff,

sniff, sniff, the boys go marching. Vitalic

Breathing and vigorous exercise.

The young men of America are the sinew

of the nation. If they are sound, fit and effi

cient the future will be in safe hands.

The World War demonstrated the value of

military training in a most profound manner.

Hundreds of thousands of young men,

slouchy in posture, soft muscled, undisci

plined, were speedily transformed into erect,

strong, dynamic, disciplined soldiers. This

transformation was brought about by exer

cise, wholesome food, and rational living

methods.

The Army Teaches Men How to Live

Universal Training Would Be a Boon

The millions of former soldiers today in

civil life all over America, who had the advan

161


tage of a military training, are better men

and more efficient citizens as the result of

such training.

From an economic standpoint the bettered

health and the expected longer span of life

superinduced by military training will com

pensate by increased earnings of these mil

lions of men to quite a degree for our present

tremendous national debt.

In the army men are taught how to stand,

walk, run, exercise, and bathe. They are

instructed in all the essentials of personal

hygiene. The danger of contracting venereal

disease is almost daily impressed on their

minds, and it is only through our high schools,

universities, and military instructors, that we

can ever hope to emancipate the human race

from the leprous contamination of sex

diseases.

The Discipline of Military Training

Will Be a Valuable Asset Through Life

Discipline, too, is a vital part of military

training, and I am sure a little discipline will

prove a very good asset all through life for

those of us who were fortunate enough to

have received it in the Army or Navy.

Universal training along military lines

SINEW OF THE NATION 163

should be made a part of the education of

every physically fit youth in America. This

training is not necessarily to make our boys

soldiers, or to develop our young men into

militarists. Such is not the intention of uni

versal training; it is simply to teach, under

strict discipline, the value of systematic exer

cise, the manner in which the body should be

cared for, and the necessity of living a clean,

regular, simple life. All these essentials for

the betterment of body and mind are imparted

by regular military training. God speed the

day when such training will be made compul

sory for the young men of America! It is

pleasurable to note that the State of New

York has begun the compulsory training cru

sade for the youths of the Empire State.

Vitalic Breathing Should Be Made

A Part of West Point Education

When Vitalic Breathing is officially made

a part of the officers' training at West Point,

what a world of good it will accomplish, espe

cially with the newcomers! The long marches

and drills will not prove tiring when Vitalic

Breathing is practiced; doubling around the

drill grounds will not make a rookie pant for

breath and force him to breathe through the


mouth. On the contrary, little or no lung

fatigue or shortness of breath will be in evi

dence after running when Vitalic Breathing

is practiced. And later when every American

soldier and sailor is initiated into Nature's

method of breathing, not only fatigue, but

disease, too, will dissipate, for Vitalic Breath

ing is both fatigue and disease-preventing.

Many former soldiers who have mastered

Vitalic Breathing declare that its practice

would reduce to a minimum the falling out

of the ranks of men who had become phys

ically exhausted through lack of knowledge

of proper breathing.

A Simple Test to Prove the Value

of Vitalic Breathing in the Army

It is simple to prove the worth of Vitalic

Breathing in military training. Provide two

squads of men; instruct one of these groups

to practice Vitalic Breathing while marching

or hill-climbing, the other squad to breathe in

the old-fashioned way. Let both squads work

continuously for two hours under the same

stress, and the condition of the men at the

expiration of the drill will provide the answer.

The men who have practiced Vitalic

Breathing will be in fine shape physically and

SINEW OP THE NATION 165

mentally. The tired feeling and exhaustion

induced by wrong breathing will not bother

these men. Therefore, Vitalic Breathing

should be included in the training of every

soldier and sailor, and the best of it all is

that it takes but a few lessons to master the

essentials of breathing Nature's way.

Vitalic Breathing Makes Work Easy

Try It, You Hewers of Wood

In every industrial and agricultural pursuit

Vitalic Breathing will make work easy.

While digging, inhale deeply or take two

short sniffs as you push the spade into the

ground ; exhale when you withdraw the spade

preparatory to the next digging process.

Never breathe through the mouth while dig

ging. Vitalic Breathing enables you to dig

with considerable rapidity at a minimum of

lung fatigue.

Shoveling snow and coal usually is best

performed by alternate inhaling and exhaling

while you work.

In rowing a boat, bicycling, and in all kinds

of work Vitalic Breathing is most beneficial

as a preventive of lung fatigue.

Factory managers and doctors of industrial

medicine will find that Vitalic Breathing,


when properly used, is capable of tremen

dously increasing production, efficiency, and

health.

THE BENT-ARM THRUST

FIGURE ONE

Strong arms and well developed shoulder muscles

will result from the daily practice of this exercise.

Directions— Stand erect, heels about ten inches

apart. Bend the arms at the elbows, keeping hands

extended upward (Figure i). Thrust the arms three

167

THE BENT-ARM THRUST

FIGURE TWO

times forcibly above the head (Figure 2), After each

upward thrust, return to number one position. Now

elevate the bent arms on line with the shoulders (Fig-

169

THE BENT-ARM THRUST

FIGURE THREE

ure 3), then chop three times from the elbow straight

out to the sides. Then thrust the arms three times

forcibly to the front of the body (Figure 4), return to

figure number one, only that the bent arms are raised

to the height of the shoulder and the hands are ex-

•

171

THE BENT-ARM THRUST

FIGURE FOUR

)

tended toward the front, elbows back. (Figure 5.)

From position number 5 thrust the hands three times

forcibly downward. Do not move the feet during the

execution of this exercise. Keep the head square to

the front, and do not follow the movements of your

173

THE BENT-ARM THRUST

FIGURE FIVE

L : I

hands with the eyes. Each thrust must be powerful

and vigorous.

B reathing Directions— Continuously inhale

deeply while thrusting, and forcibly exhale while with

drawing arms preparatory to beginning new thrust.

Inhale and exhale through the nose.

175

CHAPTER X

TAKE THOUGHT WITH FOOD

Eat to live, not live to eat. Eat wisely —

not too much. When not to eat fruit. Wrong

food curdles the disposition. Get acquainted

with your stomach. Treat it as a friend.

Food is the nutriment which goes to sup

port life. Proper food will be suitable for

assimilation by the organism of the body.

Take thought of your food. Nature sup

plies it to man in endless variety and form

and suited to every taste. Eat wisely. Learn

what food does to you. The man who would

get very angry if the wrong sort of oil were

put in his automobile engine often puts in his

stomach food that isn't suited to his bodily

engine. Is not your body more important

than your motor car?

Most foods are good and wholesome, unless

taken in excess of the needs of the body,

when they develop dangerous toxins. Inhar

monious mixtures of food contribute largely

to the ills and discomforts of humanity.

177


We are intelligent in almost everything we

do except in eating. Even our most cultured

and educated men and women develop a sur

prising ignorance at the dining table.

Three or more times a day a tremendous

quantity of food is forced into the stomach,

usually insufficiently masticated and inharmo-

niously combined.

Almost every day we read of prominent

men and women dropping dead from acute

indigestion, after partaking at a banquet of

a dozen or more wrongly combined, gas-form

ing, blood-poisoning viands.

When Appetite Is in the Saddle

Discretion Is Left at the Roadside

Today almost every person is eating

wrongly. We do not wish to eat properly

because we are ruled by appetite instead of

by natural hunger. We have not sufficient

will power to resist the lure of temptingly

prepared food as is served nowadays.

Unhappy results alone will teach us the fal

lacy of overeating and eating these inharmo

nious food combinations that injure health

and cause inefficiency.

In sickness food regulation, not drugs,

should be the first thought of the doctor.

TAKE THOUGHT WITH FOOD 179

The medical world is rapidly recognizing the

part that food plays in health and disease,

and, when this is universally acknowledged

and properly understood, many of the ail

ments of the human race will vanish.

Since prohibition went into effect doctors

have become busier than ever. The reason

for this is that we are consuming more sweets

and soft drinks, which cause as much bodily

disorder as ever was caused by beer or light

wines. Light wines and beer combine per

fectly with almost every kind of protein,

starch, and fat. But pure water is a beverage

superior to any manufactured decoction.

Are Delights of the Table

Worth the Toll of Poor Health?

I have spoken to many people regarding

proper eating and often I get this reply:

" My life would not be worth living if I

could not eat all the good things to which I

have become accustomed."

Others have said:

" I would sooner be dead than deny myself

the pleasure of all kinds of food."

So you see how we have become abject

slaves to food, many of us even preferring

death than to change from wrong eating.


We need more men of the type of Alfred

W. McCann, who has been a pioneer, persis

tent, and diligent fighter in the battle for pure

food. Most of us do not realize the important

work that he has performed. In spite of

prejudice, ignorance, and opposition, Mr.

McCann has zealously labored, wrought and

fought for the welfare of humanity, and now

his efforts are being universally recognized

and crowned by well-merited success. I take

great pleasure in suggesting that Mr. McCann

be enrolled as a member of the Hall of Fame,

as his unselfish lifesaving work merits this

honor.

Here are some food don'ts which, if care

fully followed, will work wonders in freeing

you from unhealthy stomach conditions.

When You May Eat Fruits

And When You Should Avoid Them

Don't eat any acid or subacid fruit with

any other food; in most stomachs they do not

digest properly when mixed. Especially do

not eat fruit with milk, ice cream or vege

tables. Fruit goes through a short form of

digestion in the stomach, so fruit only should

be eaten one hour before or two hours after

eating other foods.


When acid fruits are consumed with

starches, proteins and fats discord begins

almost immediately and the entire mass of

, food in the stomach may soon develop into

an indigestible, fermenting combination dan

gerous to health. Sugar fruits may be taken

with safety with proteins, fats, and starches.

Sugar 'fruits are perfectly ripened bananas,

dates, figs, and raisins. Most all other fruits

come under the standard of acid or subacid

fruits and never should be eaten with other

food of any kind.

There is probably one exception to this

rule, the apple. The apple will combine with

almost every food, milk and ice cream ex

cepted, and if you must have acid fruit with

your meals, choose the apple. The pear is also

a permissible fruit in combination with other

foods. Fruit is Nature's own food and medi

cine. When taken by itself as a food unit, it

proves one of the greatest blood-purifiers on

earth. It cleanses the upper intestine, and

also is an excellent preventive of constipation.

If every person would take acid or subacid

fruits exclusively for breakfast the health of

humanity would soon improve. But, in our

ignorance, fruit, one of Nature's greatest

gifts to man, is eaten with other foods and,


instead of benefiting us immeasurably, harms

us considerably.

Sugar or milk should never be mixed with

acid or subacid fruits. Such a combination

ferments and forms alcohol in the stomach.

Stomach pains, which develop an hour or two

after your morning grapefruit sprinkled with

sugar, are simply Nature's method of warn

ing you that such a combination is decidedly

harmful, but you never attribute these pains

to sugared fruit. You imagine you have

stomach trouble, so you drop in at a drug

store to procure some tablets to cure your

indigestion.

During strawberry time the prevalence of

skin irritation among those who consume ber-

dies with milk or sugar should be sufficient

warning that such a combination is harmful.

Even stewed fruits, apples, rhubarb and

prunes, are more healthful if no sugar is

added. The usual sugared preserves are

chronic disease breeders and stomach

disturbers.

Milk Is Nature's Best Food

But Be Sure You Use It Rightly

There is no better food for normal child,

woman, or man than milk, rightly used, but


care must be exercised in choosing harmo

nious associate foods with the milk. Milk

does not combine with all vegetables. The

potato combines perfectly with milk or cream.

Use butter and flour for sauces and avoid the

possible inharmonious blending of cream

sauces for vegetables.

Meat eaten once or even twice a day in

moderate quantities is of the first importance.

For well persons there is really no important

difference between the action of red meat and

of white meat, providing the cooking has been

thorough.

White flour bread is simply the starch of

the wheat berry, the other valuable parts

having been eliminated. Insist on getting

whole wheat bread and you will get Nature's

perfect food, starch, husk, salts, bran, rough

age, lime, and minerals. Whole wheat bread

is now obtainable in almost every town and

citv.

The tired, irritable, sensitive disposition

results from wrong eating. Drugs will not

cure this state. Only a change to proper diet

will supply the tonic to remove these morbid

conditions. Many people who lack self-confi

dence, who cannot concentrate, who feel tired

on arising in the morning, who lack enthu


siasm and vitality, are suffering from a

deficiency of certain necessary body elements

which may be derived from food alone.

Eat plenty of fresh green vegetables when

in season, but use salt sparingly, as it retards

the digestion of raw vegetables. Also eat well-

cooked vegetables every day in the year.

Ice cream combines with meat, potatoes,

bread, and plain desserts. It does not har

monize with acid or subacid fruit or with

many vegetables. Plain chocolate or vanilla

ice cream is the safest and best.

Excessive Use of Candy Is Bad

It Will Upset Any Person's Stomach

Candy is the cause of much stomach

trouble. Two or three pieces of candy a week

should be your limit. Candy intemperance is

just as destructive and harmful as whisky

drinking. It is bound to get you in the end.

It is taking these things to excess that gener

ates the trouble.

If we could be temperate in our appetites

we could safely consume a little candy now

and then. But a little only whets the per

verted appetite for more, and half a pound or

a pound of rich chocolates are often swal

lowed during an evening. Nature will make

TAKE THOUGHT WITH POOD 185

you pay for such folly sooner or later, usually

sooner. You will have to settle the bill in full.

Well-cooked broiled, boiled, or baked fish is

healthful and desirable.

Eggs boiled or scrambled are more diges

tible than hard-boiled or fried eggs. Eggs

are a wholesome food, rich in body-build

ing and nerve-nourishing substances— al

though they could not be depended upon to

nourish the body if all other foods were

excluded.

Plain domestic or imported cream cheese is

a dependable, strength-imparting food.

The three most commonly used foods that

are positively detrimental to health are pota

toes, white flour and candy. In his book

entitled " Eating to Live Long," Dr. William

Henry Porter, a famous authority on diet,

says:

" People who eat heartily of super-starchy

foods also exhaust their available oxygen

supply before the more difficult task of oxi

dizing the proteid is accomplished.

" For this reason I have found it necessary

to exclude potato from the dietary, not

because it is indigestible, but because it is too

digestible. For the starch of the potato is

probably the most easily digested of all


starchy forms. This is just where the trouble

arises.

" The potato is so easily assimilated that it

uses up most of the oxygen, and there is not

enough left to oxidize sufficiently the proteid

molecules. I have any number of patients

who, if they eat potatoes at the night meal,

will have an over-production of uric acid the

next day.

" Another pertinent reason for eliminating

the potato from the dietary is that many peo

ple who eat potatoes want them three times

a day, and they want them fried— which is

piling Ossa upon Pelion. Fried potatoes only

add to the diet an extra amount of fat, which

also has to be oxidized. This naturally

increases the tendency to starchy indigestion."

Right eating and drinking is well worth

your sincere, zealous, painstaking investiga

tion. Eat as few things as possible at one

time. Do not eat any food between meals.

Find out by actual experiment the various

foods that combine and suit your own partic

ular stomach, then ever afterward you will

have little or no bother in avoiding the food

combinations that cause trouble, always

remembering it is not the quantity of food

you eat that counts.

THE VIBRATION BREATH

FIGURE ONE

Promotes resistance to disease and nervousness.

Stirs up the blood and stimulates the nerves.

Directions— Stand erect, heels about twelve

inches apart. Inhale fully and expand the chest.

Strike sharply the walls of the chest with the palm of

each hand (Figure i). At the same time trill loudly

with the voice, the sound of a rolling R. This sound

187

Mr. Gaines before he had devised, perfected and adopted Vitalic

Breathing.

THE VIBRATION BREATH

FIGURE TWO

is produced by elevating the tongue and placing the tip

close behind the upper front teeth. Now bend over to

the front with unbent knees, and inhale deeply. Place

the clenched hands behind the back and strike sharply

with the knuckles up and down the spine (Figure s).

At the same time continue to trill with the voice. If

it is impossible to master the voice trilling, simply

make the sound "ah" as in father. Practice this exer

cise a few times daily.

Breathing Directions—On account of us

ing the voice, ordinary breathing is to be practiced

with this exercise.

189

CHAPTER XI

GOITRE AND PYORRHEA

AND CONSTIPATION

Vitalic Breathing and proper eating con

quer them. Chronic colds and catarrhal

deafness banished with a sniff. Bowel regu

lation through food and exercise.

Scores of my pupils, sufferers from

simple goitre and from pyorrhea, have been

benefited, and many absolutely cured, by the

practice of Vitalic Breathing, coupled with

proper diet.

If you are a sufferer from any of these,

avoid strong tea, coffee, cocoa, candy, white

flour bread and pastries. Walk half an hour

daily, breathing in sniffs. Take six minutes

of exercise every morning and each evening.

Do this as follows: For two minutes prac

tice the Upper Breath, for two minutes the

Vitalic Sway, for one minute the Internal

Breath and for one minute the Vibration

Breath. Within a few weeks a decided

improvement will usually be noticed; per

191


feet correction should be eventually brought

about. In cases of an ordinary goitre, cold

applications, ten minutes night and morning,

will shrink externally the loosened skin as the

goitre dissolves internally from the effect of

the breathing exercises and simple diet.

It is an essential to be free from constipa

tion while taking the exercises to eliminate

goitre and pyorrhea. Consult your dentist

and see that you have no pus formations

around the margin of your gums. Also that

all mechanical causes of pyorrhea are re

moved by proper instrumentation, followed

by local prophylactic measures.

Pyorrhea is on the increase. It is wonder

ful how quickly it will disappear when you

adopt Vitalic Breathing and proper eating.

Within one week your dentist will be amazed

at the improvement, and a few months later,

if you faithfully keep up your breathing and

proper eating, you should find the pyorrhea

has disappeared.

Diet and Proper Exercise Are

Nature's Remedies for Chronic Colds

If you have a chronic cold or cough, with

considerable nasal and throat discharge and

fever, it is simply the voice of Nature saying:

GOITRE AND PYORRHEA 193

" Stop eating, stop eating; why can't you

see that your blood is overcharged with waste

matter and poison? " When you endeavor to

dry up catarrh or to stop a cold, you may be

in reality trying to overcome a perfectly

natural attempt on the part of the body to

get rid of poisons. Remove the cause of the

catarrh and the cold and the organic poisons

will leave your blood, and Nature will cease

plagueing you with such symptoms.

Five minutes' daily curative exercises will

be found most beneficial in eliminating or pre

venting colds and rheumatism. Execute the

Upper Breath for two minutes, the Internal

Breath one minute and the Vitalic Sway two

minutes.

Walking for half an hour each day, prac

ticing Vitalic Breathing, will prove a great

aid to ridding you of these symptoms.

But above all, avoid too much starchy

foods and sweets. Contrary to the usual belief

moderate meat eating is not conducive to

rheumatism. Fallen arches, producing vari

ous pains, are often attributed to rheumatism.

Have your shoes fitted to proper arches if

you are bothered with pains in the thighs,

calves of the leg or knees. Then practice

walking on the toes and other similar exer


cises until you have restored your feet to

normal. (See Dormant Walking Exercise.)

Correct posture is advised if you suffer

from colds or rheumatism. Mouth hygiene

must also be rigidly observed. Brushing

thoroughly the teeth, gums and tongue twice

daily is essential for a cure.

Catarrhal Deafness Often May Be Routed

By the Practice of Vitalic Breathing

Very many cases of catarrhal deafness will

show quick improvement when Vitalic Breath

ing is practiced. If you are troubled with

defective hearing or have ringing noises in

the head, take one hundred Upper Breaths

each day. Twenty-five such breaths are to

be taken four times per day — in the morn

ing, about noon, in the afternoon, and at

night. Walk one hour each day while prac

ticing Vitalic Breathing. A brisk walk is

the best.

Even men, women and children who have

been deaf from birth may often benefit by

adopting Vitalic Breathing. t The writer suf

fered from catarrhal deafness in the left ear

for several years. This condition was inten

sified by constant roaring, buzzing and ring

ing noises. On arising in the morning both


ears were frequently stopped up for half an

hour, and even the ringing of adjacent church

bells or the ticking of a watch held close to

the ear was inaudible.

When I discovered that food was the cause

of my deafness I determined to experiment

and find the foods that were most to blame for

the trouble. After a year of experimentation

I was rather confident that my defective hear

ing was due to my fondness for potatoes,

which by stealing the available oxygen from

the system deprive the body of the power

to completely oxygenate the proteid elements

in the food — thus increasing the formation

of uric acid. Ever since boyhood I had been

a pronounced potato eater, consuming on an

average of three good sized tubers every day.

The second morning after leaving potatoes

out of my diet found my ears in a greatly

improved condition, the stopped up condition

was not so noticeable and the head noises

had diminished.

I abstained almost totally from potatoes

for several months, and a great improvement

in my hearing resulted. The ringing noises

too had reduced probably seventy-five per

cent. Today my deafness has disappeared,

the ringing noises rarely bother me at all.


Occasionally, if I am intemperate in eating,

Nature gets busy with the head noises to

warn me that I have transgressed her laws.

Necessity of Toilet Facilities

Constipation and Its Cure

The greatest mistake in hygiene made in

almost every home is that of limited toilet

accommodations. In every house and apart

ment there should be two or three toilets.

People leaving home at the same time in the

morning tax the usual scant toilet accommo

dations, preventing proper attention to the

evacuation of the bowels, and as a conse

quence quite often the call of Nature is stifled

and in almost every neglected case constipa

tion sets in. It may even produce appendi

citis and other dangerous troubles.

Laxatives will not cure constipation.

They should be used with extreme caution,

and only when absolutely necessary. Consti

pation in nearly every instance may be cor

rected quite easily and quickly by adopting

corrective food and necessary exercises.

Eliminate white flour products such as

white bread, crackers, and pastry, from your

diet. Substitute whole wheat bread, not bran

bread or gluten ; just the genuine heavy solid


whole wheat bread. If impossible to procure

whole wheat bread take a table spoonful

of bran every day in a little warm water

or cold milk. String beans, lettuce, celery,

cabbage, turnips, onions, spinach, greens,

radishes, are useful vegetables in the curing

of constipation.

These Fruits Will Combine Well

With Almost Any Proper Food

Apples, pears, dates, figs and raisins are

the safest fruits to use, as they combine well

with all other foods. The juice of an orange

also is useful, but care must be taken that no

sugar, milk or ice cream is used for at least

two hours before or one hour after taking

the orange juice. Such a combination is not

proper for your stomach and should be

avoided. At least four or five glasses of water

should be consumed daily.

A glassful of hot water directly after eat

ing breakfast, luncheon and dinner, also

before retiring, will be found quite effective.

- Above all, you must walk briskly half an

hour each day and practice Vitalic Breathing

while walking. A few minutes' run daily is

also most excellent. The Vitalic Sway exer

cise is helpful in cases of sluggish bowels.


Many of my pupils have found the follow

ing exercise of almost instant benefit in

relieving constipation :

While seated on the closet stool, with body

held erect, place the left leg across the right

knee. Inhale in sniffs until lungs are

packed. Hold breath and grasp edges of

closet seat or any other convenient projec

tions. Now forcibly pull upwards while holding

the breath. Keep up the pulling strain for five

to ten seconds, then exhale as you relax from

this upward pulling. Again pack the lungs

and place hands on the top of closet seat, and

push down strongly and forcibly while hold

ing the breath. Keep up this pushing strain

from five to ten seconds, then relax and exhale

as before.

Often the placing of the right leg across

the left knee brings desired results speedily.

The pushing and pulling may be alternated

by grasping both ankles firmly and endeavor

ing with all your strength to separate the

ankles from your grasp.

Make it a life custom to evacuate the bowels

every night before retiring. Composed and

restful sleep will result.

THE OBESITY BEND

FIGURE ONE

This is excellent for reducing corpulence in the

abdominal region. Also strengthens the muscles of

the back and abdomen.

Directions— Stand erect, heels about twelve

inches apart. As you bend over directly to the front,

elevate the right arm as high as possible, at the same

time touching the floor with the left hand (Figure i).

Keep the eyes fixed on an object between the feet

199

THE OBESITY BEND

FIGURE TWO

while the body is bent over. One knee may be slightly

bent. Now straighten up and bend backward, as far

as possible, but of course not endangering your equil

ibrium (Figure 2). Maintain that position for a

moment, and bend over as before, touching the floor

with the right hand, and it the same time elevating

the left arm as high as possible (Figure 3) ; then

straighten up to position 2 ; continue this exercise for a

201

THE OBESITY BEND

FIGURE THREE

few minutes. If you are extremely fat, devote a two-

minute session three times daily to this bend.

Breathing Directions—As you bend over

(Figure i), inhale deeply, hold breath while you

straighten up (Figure 2). As you bend (Figure 3),

exhale through the nose, then inhale and hold breath,

and return to Figure 2 position. Then as you bend

to Figure 1 position, exhale and take a deep breath

as before.

203

CHAPTER XII

ASTHMA, CATARRH AND

INFLUENZA

Asthma the result of improper breathing.

Catarrh curable only by hygienic methods.

Burn up the poison with fresh air. Vitalic

Breathing an influenza preventative.

Vitalic Breathing has effected many

remarkable cures in cases of asthma. Scores

of my pupils have been completely relieved of

long-standing cases by Nature's way to

health.

Asthma is a trouble usually resulting from

improper breathing. An immediate change

for the better will often be apparent within

forty-eight hours after Vitalic Breathing is

practiced. Even the most chronic and long

standing cases will sometimes yield to this

simple treatment.

Do not attempt long breathing periods if

you are afflicted with asthma. Use three to

five minute walks to begin with, which

gradually may be extended. Regulate your

205

206 VITAL1C BREATHING

food and observe proper hygiene if afflicted

with asthma. Cleansing the tongue and

proper posture are helpful essentials.

If you start your breathing exercises in cold

weather practice the Upper Breath indoors

for a few days to begin, then very carefully

inhale the outside cold air. This preliminary

inside air inhaling will strengthen the diseased

respiratory tissues before they are subjected

to the intense outside cold air.

The Stubbornest Cases of Catarrh

Will Often Yield to Vitalic Breathing

Catarrhal troubles indicate that your bodily

machine is out of order. Improper breathing,

excessive use of starchy foods, lack of fresh

air in the home contribute to catarrhal

conditions.

Catarrh is curable only by hygienic meth

ods, and it is silly and even dangerous to use

drugs and washes in its treatment. As long

as you suffer from catarrh, it shows that

Nature is pouring out the waste matter

brought about by wrong living.

Millions of people in the United States

to-day are trying to cure catarrh by impos

sible methods. They forget that the catarrh

is but a symptom of a cause, and it is utterly

ASTHMA, CATARRH, INFLUENZA 207

foolish to try to remedy a symptom without

destroying the cause. A few weeks of sane

eating, combined with the practice of Vitalic

Breathing, while walking, will usually banish

catarrh of even twenty years standing.

Reduced consumption of food will lessen

the quantity of the mucous deposit. The

increased oxygen derived from sniff breath

ing will speedily burn up the waste matter

in the blood and very soon the catarrh will

have disappeared.

Five Minutes a Day of the Upper Breath

Often Will Relieve Sufferers From Catarrh

The Upper Breath is most useful in

catarrh. It should be practiced for five or

ten minutes daily. The conscious, vigorous

sniffing, penetrating to every part of the nose

and respiratory passages, will heal and vital

ize all these hidden tissues.

Gently sniff cold salt water from your hand

if you desire to wash out the nasal passages.

Gargle your throat with cold water several

times daily. None of us is entirely free from

a slight catarrh of the throat, but the neces

sity of using a handkerchief for nasal catarrh

will vanish, and quickly too, when right liv

ing is observed.


It is estimated that during 1918 more than

one and a half million of people died in the

United States, and probably more than one

half of these deaths were unnecessary and

due to ignorance of the proper way of living.

A recent magazine article stated that the

influenza epidemic of fall and winter 1918-19

caused the deaths of at least half a million

people in this country.

The terrible aftermath of defective men

tality, deafness, loss of voice, weakness and

other disasters following influenza is appall

ing.

Terrors of Influenza Fade

When Vitalic Breathing Is Used

Neither influenza nor any kindred disease

will harm you if your resisting power is at

par. Why not take steps to prevent what we

call disease, instead of feverishly endeavor

ing to cure it after its contraction.

We are informed by our highest authori

ties on hygiene that we must do certain things

to avoid sickness and still the ugly fact

remains in spite of all advice, that half a

million or more valuable lives were snuffed

out in the short period of six months in this

country by influenza, while other hundreds

ASTHMA, CATARRH, INFLUENZA 209

of thousands have been made a burden,

dependent entirely for support upon their

families.

Why should a scourge like influenza be

allowed to ravage and destroy? Medical men

admit they are almost powerless with regard

to it. Judged by the death rate, this state

ment is true. It has been clearly demon

strated that drugs will not cure it, otherwise

so many would not have fallen victims in so

short a time.

With Human Lives at Stake

Why Avoid Nature's Own Safe Cure?

When millions of human lives are at stake,

let us forget the ethics and niceties of pro

fessions. The world demands freedom from

influenza and from every other disease. If

those intrusted with the health of the people

fail to find a remedy, then in the name of

suffering humanity, let us turn to something

else for relief.

Nature never intended that anyone should

suffer from disease. She makes us suffer

only when we infringe upon her laws. When

we no longer do so, she will no longer visit

us with plagues.

If you wish to avoid influenza, practice


Vitalic Breathing, for fifteen or twenty min

utes daily and eat in moderation harmoni

ously combined foods.

It may prove of interest to state that but one

of my pupils contracted influenza during the

1918-19 epidemics. The disease was present

in almost every pupil's home, but with this

one exception it failed to affect those who

practiced Vitalic Breathing.

THE VITALIC SWAY

FIGURE ONE

The Vitalic Sway is the best all around stretching

exercise I know of. Much benefit will follow its prac

tice for two or three minutes daily. It stretches, stimu

lates and strengthens the entire body. It is particu

larly useful in constipation.

211

THE VITALIC SWAY

FIGURE TWO

Directions— Stand perfectly erect with the heels

about fifteen inches apart. Bend the body and head

over as far as possible to the left side. Resist a ten

dency to lean backward or forward by keeping the

head in line with the legs. As you proceed to bend

213

THE VITALIC SWAY

FIGURE THREE

the body raise the right arm as high as possible well

above your head and over to the left, touch your left

leg as far down as possible with the left hand and

raise the heel of the right foot off the ground (Figure

i). Then reverse the same motions to the right side

215

THE VITALIC SWAY

(Figure 2). The knees must not be bent. In all there

are four motions simultaneously executed. Bending

the body, stroking the leg, raising the arm and lifting

the heel.

To use the Vitalic Sway as a concentratlve exer

cise proceed as follows: As you bend the body to

the left side and raise your right arm you call out

loudly "one." As you bend over to the right side

and raise the left arm you call " A." Swinging back

to the left side you call " two," and then to the right

you call " B," and so on until the entire alphabet is

correctly called off. Remember the right hand repre

sents figures and the left hand the letters of the alpha

bet. When you have mastered calling numbers and

letters correctly then proceed to the next stage calling

the alphabet backward. The first motion while raising

the right hand call "one," the second motion while

raising the left hand call "Z," and so on until you

finish the alphabet at " A." When you have mastered

the alphabet backwards then proceed to the third stage,

calling the alphabet backwards and forwards. Thus,

as you raise the right arm and bend to the left call

" one," as you bend to the right call " A," then to the

left call "two," then to the right call "Z," then to

the left call "three," then to the right call " B," then

to the left call "four," then to the right call "Y,"

and so on until the alphabet is counted and called cor

rectly. In this fashion you are exercising your body

and improving your memory.

Breathing Directions— Sniff in twice while

throwing the arms to the right side, then forcibly

217

THE VITALIC SWAY

exhale while returning arms to the left side. Breathe

through the nose only. When using this exercise for

concentration purposes breathe in the ordinary fashion

as you are using the mouth for speaking. Daily

use of the Vitalic Sway, either with or without the

concentrative exercise will soon become a daily joy.

218

CHAPTER XIII

HOW TO STAY YOUNG

Old age not a period of life but a condi

tion. Proper posture synonymous with elas

ticity. You are as old as your spine and your

mind. Regain youth with Vitalic Breathing.

Right thinking, right eating, right breathing

— health and happiness. Give Nature a

chance.

Old age is not a period of life; it is a con

dition that comes to some at thirty-five or

forty, while others at sixty or seventy are

energetic and surpass younger men in their

activities.

To grow young each year should be the

ambition of those advanced in years. The

first essential for retaining youth or throw

ing off old age if in its grip, is to banish

fatigue by Vitalic Breathing and by cultivat

ing a cheerful disposition.

Eliminate all worry and morbid thoughts.

Unless suffering from a weak heart, be sure

to walk at least half an hour daily; an hour

would be better. On these walks Vitalic

219


Breathing is to be used. Do not over-eat.

Eat only harmonious food combinations. You

may eat meat in moderation.

Remember it is not alone the food you eat

that creates strength. Much of your strength

comes from the oxygen you breathe. Another

source of strength is a serene mind.

If you are advanced in years, begin your

body reconstruction work very conserva

tively. Do not try to walk long distances at

once. Walk five minutes daily at the begin

ning and keep increasing as you acquire more

strength and vitality.

Above all stand and sit erect, as proper

posture is synonomous with elasticity and

health. You are as old as your spine; so

cultivate an erect, pliable spine.

Wear youthful clothes.

Do not coddle yourself, nor permit anyone

else to coddle you.

Read the Newest Books

Get Some New Ideas in Your Head

Absorb new, crisp ideas; read the newest

books and only gems among the oldest; wear

new clothes; think new thoughts, stop dream

ing about the happenings of fifty years ago;

create an atmosphere of youthfulness about

HOW TO STAY YOUNG 221

you. Remember you are only as old as you

feel.

Associate with young people and pass by

those who are grouchy, morbid, complaining

and ailing. Take a grip on yourself ; radiate

optimism, cheerfulness, health, vitality and

enthusiasm. Do not talk about your ail

ments, if you have any. Instead, think up

lifting thoughts and do not forget to laugh

and smile. Remember you can be old at

thirty and young at seventy. It is a matter

for you alone to decide.

Stiffening and contraction cause old age. If

we can avoid the shrinking of muscles, glands

and tissues we will retain our youthful

appearance.

We are only as old as our arteries. If we

can but keep our blood carriers pliable and

resilient then we will hold off old age as far

as the usual withered appearance is con

cerned, and may add years to our lives.

The logical procedure, if you are termed

old and look and feel that way, is to correct

your eating. Then the practice of Vitalic

Breathing while walking will help to restore

your arteries to a sound condition and soon

you should feel the fires of youth flaming up

in your body.


Remember no physical exercises, unless

thoroughly enjoyed, are necessary. Walk

ing, hill climbing and an occasional short run

will keep your body in good shape. If you

do take up a program of exercises they should

be systematically practiced each day.

You must always employ Vitalic Breath

ing while walking, hill or stair climbing or

running so that the toxin of fatigue will not

poison and weaken you.

Above all cultivate an erect posture; this

may prove a source of extreme difficulty at

first, but perseverance will win out. A cer

tain time each and every day of your life

must be devoted to walking while practicing

Vitalic Breathing. This time may range from

fifteen minutes to tzuo hours, the longer the

better. A daily gentle massage covering the

entire body is most helpful in restoring sup

pleness to muscles and ligaments.

Certainly, You Can " Come Back "

Give Nature a Chance to Help

It is better not to begin youth reconstruc

tion work at all unless you possess the neces

sary will power to do it systematically and

regularly every day.

If you are old, sick, weak, miserable, do


not despair. Through the power of sane eat

ing and Vitalic Breathing you may regain

health, strength, ambition and usefulness.

Even the feeling of youth, glorious youth,

will abide with you, if you breathe rightly

and eat rightly. If you are despondent,

indifferent, nervous, depressed, turn to Vitalic

Breathing and proper eating, and lo! Your

whole conception of life will be altered.

Give Nature a chance to help you. Remem

ber more than 900 cases of sickness in every

1,000 are the result of wrong eating and

improper breathing. When you correct these

faults you should get well. It matters not

how chronic your case may be, Nature, lov

ing, kind, constructive, will hasten to your

relief when you adopt her way of living.

Believe in Nature, in her bounty, her gen

erosity, her life-giving powers, her gentleness

and love.

Nature weeps for you when you force her

to make you ill. How patiently she strives

to warn you of all threatening danger! How

often do we neglect this kind advice and

warning! But like a true mother she

never forsakes us, no matter how we may

transgress.

Nature is calling you now. Hear her say,


" Live my way and be well." What will be

your answer? Indifference and despair, or

acquiescence and health? Will you respond

with a resolute determination to win back

ambition, strength and youth? Will you

pledge the devotion of fifteen or twenty min

utes each and every day to walking and

Vitalic Breathing? Will you maintain your

will power over your false appetite so that

you can resist the impulse of eating too

much food?

You May Be Well, If You Will

Be on the Square With Yourself

Too much stress cannot be put on right

thinking and poise as a remedy and preven

tive of disease, but one must be reasonable

even in this. If you are overeating one hour

and making health affirmations during the

next, you are ridiculous and inconsistent. If

you are afraid to open your bedroom win

dows at night for fear of catching cold and

before retiring kneel down and ask God to

make you well, you are simply mocking the

Almighty.

If instead of walking you prefer to ride

in your automobile, and then go home and

visualize yourself as being in perfect


health, you are doing something absurd and

dangerous.

All the right thinking of a life time will not

restore to normal your fallen arches. This

trouble can only be remedied by exercise or

mechanical means.

If you have an ulcerated tooth, right think

ing will not make it well. Correct breathing

and sane eating will accomplish much in that

direction. However, a visit to the dentist

might help.

Cultivate a Strong Will

And Make Your Body Behave

If your troubles are of the mental kind

right thinking probably is the best medium

of regaining poise and balance. But cer

tainly use common sense with right thinking

if you are afflicted with illness. Employ

Vitalic Breathing, curative exercises and eat

proper food, and this combination will speed

ily scatter the conditions which caused your

trouble.

The world owes much to right thinking.

But to stay poised, strong and well, always

combine your right thinking with right

breathing and right eating.

Develop a strong will and you will have a


disciplined intellect. And if you have a

strong intellect, your brain will function bet

ter, because it is the intellect that leads and

directs the brain.

If your will power is weak and spineless,

your intellect will be wavering, flaccid and

non-dependable.

If the intellect understands that the will

is its master, then the intellect will behave

and attend strictly to business. But if the

intellect recognizes that the will is easy,

lenient and weak, then the intellect plays all

kinds of pranks and leads the body into trou

ble and mischief.

When the will is dominant, there is order,

poise and tranquility. When the will is not

efficient, chaos -rules.

Consequently, for health, poise, efficiency

and freedom from fatigue cultivate a strong

will and intellect, and the brain will establish

proper order and conditions in the body.

To promote strength of intellect and will,

drill daily in memory and will power exer

cises for at least three minutes. Walk half

an hour every day breathing in sniffs, eat

sanely and moderately. Read instructive

books and magazines, and remember the

salient points of what you read. Take con


centration and visualization exercises for a

few minutes each day and ask a number of

your friends or relatives to criticise your

faults and short-comings. Then correct them

by intelligent exercises. Practice and disci

pline will make any sense, organ or function

of the body more efficient. Five minutes daily

in all for your mental exercises will accom

plish wonders in sixty days.

Remember the Brain Is an Organ

It Will Obey a Trained Intellect

It is absolutely imperative to real manhood

and womanhood to possess a strong, com

manding, forceful will, which will in turn

insure a wideawake, keen, observing, con

structive intellect. Your brain will then

attend to the business of the body in a supe

rior way.

Do not forget that the brain is an organ,

but that it cannot itself think. The intellect

does all the thinking for the brain, and

thoughts are flashed over the nerves and

are constructive only if a poised will directs

the thinking of the intellect.

You are going backward when you begin

to worry. Worry is a destroyer, a wrecker,

a breaker of hearts and of homes, a shat


terer of peace and happiness, lives and of

love.

If worry could better circumstances in any

way it might be profitable to worry. But

worry never helps. On the contrary, if

unchecked, worry drags down its victims in

a net of morbidness and despair, never relax

ing until they are crushed, broken and

wrecked.

You Can Banish All Worry

By Turning to the Vital Things

But you can conquer and banish the poison

of worry from your mind. When you feel

inclined to worry, quickly go to an open

window and practice Vitalic Breathing for

sixty seconds. At the same time supplant

your morbid thought with some cheerful, up-

lifing one. If one minute's Vitalic Breathing

is insufficient, repeat for another minute,

forcing your mind to concentrate on a cheer

ful subject.

If you have pains, either imaginary or

real, and fuss over them and talk about them,

then you are making yourself unhappy and

miserable. Not only are you injuring your

self, but you are infringing on the rights and

happiness of those who, by force of circum


stances, are obliged to live with you and

continually listen to your endless tale of woe.

Stop thinking and worrying about your

self or anyone else. Plan out a system of

breathing exercises and faithfully execute

them twice a day. If you must talk to some

one about your pains and troubles go out in

the woods and talk to the birds. You will

not annoy them, as they do not understand

you.

If you have actual troubles meet them

fearlessly and intelligently, and you will neu

tralize their sting and quickly banish them

from your life.

A Word to Wives and Mothers

Let Not Worry Abide in Your Home

Wives and Mothers, how much happier

your lives will become if you refuse to let

worry abide in your home. The hundred

and one little things that come up every day

to fret and annoy you should be smilingly

thrust aside. Refuse to allow yourself to

become morbid, angry or depressed. Bear

with your children, greet your husband with

a kiss and a smile. Even if you do not feel

like smiling, smile anyhow, it will please your

husband, and help yourself. It is surprising


how a wife's cheerful smile will react on a

grouchy husband.

Husbands you, too, may eliminate worry

by Vitalic Breathing. Do not bring home

your troubles and recite them to your wife

and children, and make them as worried and

miserable as yourself. Come home with a

smiling face and a joyful heart. Be glad

that you are alive, be thankful for your health

and your home. Forget your business cares

until the morning. Refuse to worry. If you

want advice from your wife regarding your

business troubles, tell her your trials but do

not make an all night affair of it, and remem

ber your wife's advice is often superior to

your lawyer's.

Freedom from worry should be the slogan

of every home, with father, mother, children,

all emancipated from the meanest enemy of

the human race. Begin to practice Vitalic

Breathing. Be cheerful and determine not to

over-eat and soon you will have old worry

on the run.

A GLOSSARY

of the Anatomical and Technical Terms

Used in This Book

Abdomen—The part of the body between the thorax

and the pelvis ; also, the cavity of the belly, con

taining the stomach, bowels, etc.

Abdominal organs—Those organs located in the

abdomen.

Air vesicle—A small cavity or sac, nearly spherical

in form.

Alimentary tract—The canal extending from the

mouth to the anus.

Antero-posterior—Extending or directed from front

to back.

Appendicitis—Inflammation of the vermiform ap

pendix, a narrow, blind tube extending from the

caecum in the lower right-hand part of the

abdomen.

Artery—One of the tubular branching vessels that

distribute the blood from the heart through the

body.

Asthma—A disease characterized by difficulty of

breathing, a sense of constriction in the chest,

a cough, and expectoration.

Bronchial tubes—The bronchi—subdivisions of the

trachea or windpipe.


Carbon dioxide—A compound of carbon and oxygen.

Catarrh—An inflammatory affection of any mucus

membrane, in which there are congestion, swell

ing, and an alteration in the quantity and qual

ity of mucus secreted. In America the term is

applied especially to affection of the membranes

of the nose or air passages.

Chronic—Continuing for a long time; habitual.

Clinical—Of or pertaining to a clinic, which is a

school, or a session of a school or class, in which

medicine or surgery is taught by examination

and treatment of patients in the presence of the

pupils.

Diaphragm—The muscular and tendinous partition

separating the cavity of the chest from that of

the abdomen.

Enema—An injection thrown into the rectum as a

medicine, or to impart nourishment.

Eustachian tube—A passage from the tympanum of

the ear to the pharynx.

Follicle—A small, nearly or entirely closed cavity

or gland.

Gluten—A complex and variable mixture of glutin

or gliadin, vegetable fibrin, vegetable casein,

oily material, etc.; a very nutritious element in

food.

Goitre—An enlargement of the thyroid gland, on

the anterior part of the neck.

Hygienic—Sanitary ; of or pertaining to health.

Indigestion—A failure of the normal changes which

food should undergo in the alimentary canal.

Insomnia—Inability to sleep.

GLOSSARY 233

Intercostal muscles—Muscles located between the

ribs, controlling the chest in breathing.

Intestine—The part of the alimentary canal lying

between the stomach and the anus.

Kidney—A glandular organ which excretes urea and

other waste products from the body.

Laxative—Having the effect of loosening or open

ing the intestines and relieving from constipa

tion. (Laxative medicine or exercise.)

Masticate—To grind with the teeth and prepare for

swallowing and digestion.

Metabolism—The act or process by which living

tissues or cells take up material brought to

them by the blood, or by which they transform

their cell protoplasm into simpler substances,

which are fitted either for excretion or for some

special purpose, as in the manufacture of the

digestive ferments.

Motility—Capability of motion.

Mucus membrane—The membranes lining passages

and cavities which communicate with the ex

terior, as well as ducts and receptacles of secre

tion, and habitually secreting mucus.

Nasal—Of or pertaining to the nose.

Naso-pharynx—The connection of the nose and

throat.

Noxious—Injurious.

Oral cavity—The cavity of the mouth.

Oxydize—To combine with oxygen, or subject to

the action of oxygen, or of an oxydizing agent.

Oxygen—A colorless, tasteless, odorless, gaseous

element occurring in the free state in the atmos


phere of which it forms 23 per cent by weight

and about 21 per cent by volume.

Pathological—Pertaining to the science which treats

of diseases, their nature, causes, progress, symp

toms, etc.

Pectoral muscles—The muscles of the breast or

chest.

Pelvic organs—Organs in the region of the pelvis.

Pelvis—The cartilaginous arches of the vertebrate

skeleton to which the legs are articulated, to

gether with the sacrum.

Physiological—Relating to the science of the func

tions of living organisms.

Pneuma—The spiritual being intermediate between

God and man.

Prophylactic—A medicine which defends against

disease.

Proteid—One of a class of amorphous, nitrogenous

principles, containing, as a rule, a small amount

of sulphur; an albuminoid, as blood fibrin,

casein of milk, etc.

Putrefaction—The decay of albuminous or other

matter.

Pyorrhea—A disease marked by the loosening of

the teeth.

Septum—A wall separating two cavities ; a parti

tion ; as, the nasal septum.

Sinus—A cavity in the substance of the bone of the

skull which communicates with the nostrils and

contains air.

Thorax—The part of the body between the neck and

the abdomen containing the heart, lungs, eso

phagus, etc.

GLOSSARY 235

Torso—The trunk of the human body.

Toxin—Any of a class of poisonous substances

formed as secretion products of vegetable and

animal organisms.

Trapezius muscle—A large muscle of the back and

neck that passes from the occipital bone and the

spine to the shoulder girdle.

Viscera—The internal organs.

To the Owner of This Book;

The Vitalic Breathing Exercise

Chart, presenting the Eleven Corrective

Exercises pictured and described in this

book, has been prepared for your use in

convenient form.

This exercise chart, printed on

enameled, washable, water-proof paper—

size 26 by 30 inches—may be hung or

tacked to your bed-room, bath-room or

gymnasium wall for instant use in the

practice of any of Professor Gaines'

health-building exercises.

The Vitalic Breathing Exercise

Chart will be sent, postpaid, in special

mailing tube on receipt of price, 25

cents, by your bookseller, or the

publishers


1006 S. Michigan Ave. ,

Chicago.

Vitalic Breathing By Thomas Robert Gaines Illustrated With ASet...

Documents

Transcript of Vitalic Breathing By Thomas Robert Gaines Illustrated With ASet...